Our last message in youth group was from Daniel 4. In it, the Babylonian king admits he was wrong about God. God had to go to extreme measures for him to realize it, but nonetheless he admits defeat to Yahweh. Nebuchadnezzar was retelling in a letter about the second time he asked for Daniel's help interpreting a dream.
'This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now, Belteshazzar [Daniel], tell me what it means, for none of the wise men in my kingdom can interpret it for me. But you can, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you (Daniel 4:18).'
Who could blame Nebuchadnezzar for saying that "the spirit of the holy gods" was in Daniel. After all, he was the king of a polytheistic culture. He didn't know who the one true God was. Enter Daniel. Because of Daniel's influence on the king, Nebuchadnezzar eventually gets introduced to him. But first, he had to take a seven year detour in the fields, behaving like an animal. Literally.
Pride got in his way of recognizing the one true God. Pride gets in our way of admitting when we are wrong too. How do we reinforce this type of humility in our teenage kids? The best way I can think of is to model it. I want to be right just as much as the next gal or guy. Especially when I am in a confrontation with my teenager. I need to be more quick to admit when I am wrong. And to take the next step of telling my teenager when I was wrong. My wife does it really well. I guess she isn't as prideful as I am. When we do this, our teen is seeing true humility modeled before their very eyes. And maybe, just maybe, they will take that torch of humility and run with it in their relationship with Jesus Christ too!
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