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Theme: Respectful competition.
1. Philippians 2:3-4 says, “Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself.” Is competition bad?
2. Aaron and Miriam were Moses’ brother and sister. Moses was chosen by God to be the leader of the Israelites and lead them out of Egypt. He had a very powerful position, and spoke directly with God. Because of this, Aaron and Miriam became jealous of Moses and his close relationship with God; they started complaining and saying bad things about Moses. God was unhappy about their jealousy and punished Miriam by giving her leprosy. You can read the about what happened in Numbers 12. Think about jealousy and humbleness as you listen to today’s program.
After you listen
Memory Verse
“Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself”
Quiz
A: Because Lucille makes the cheerleading squad and Julia doesn’t
Reflect
Tryouts are one of the most difficult things in school. You want to make the team, or the choir, or the play, so you get up the courage to try out. If you make it you’re so, so happy—but if you don’t, you’re crushed. Everyone has felt that. In this episode, even Julia was jealous when Lucille made the team and she didn’t.
The Bible doesn’t say a lot about competition. Competition itself isn’t bad. But how you compete, and how you treat your opponents, can be bad—it can be both offensive to God and damaging to your witness as God’s child. That’s where humility comes in. We’re told to seek the good of others (1 Corinthians 10:24). Proverbs 11:2 tells us that wisdom comes with humility, and Proverbs 18:12 tells us that humility comes before honor.
Jesus assures us that when we humble ourselves we will be exalted (Matthew 18:4). The memory verse for this episode explains what humility is—it’s considering others better than yourself. Maybe you are a better basketball player, but you should still encourage and promote those you play with or against. You should always remember that, like you, they are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27); they deserve the same opportunities to try out, to play, and to win. It takes humility to promote good for others. But that’s just what Jesus did for us.
Want to dig deeper about humility? Read Matthew 23:12; Luke 14:11, Luke 18:14, and 1 Peter 5:6.
Challenge
Think of someone who does something well that you don’t (basketball, cheerleading, knitting, cooking, penmanship, drawing). Ask them to teach you something new! Appreciate the skill they have and thank them for showing you.
