Don’t Be Full of Pride! Use the Gifts God Gave You! | Object Lesson

This is an object lesson that can help you teach your class about the dangers of pride and not giving God the glory for the things He does through us.

NEEDED:

You need two matching cups (Styrofoam or a small plastic tumbler works great) and a pitcher of water or juice to represent God’s gifts. Make sure you have plenty of liquid, because one of these vessels is going to be doing a whole lot of work.

PREP:

This one is super simple, which is great because you need to spend time practicing the delivery. Set your two cups on the table. Tell the kids that these cups are going to represent your life and the life of a volunteer. You are both vessels that God wants to use. Have your volunteer (the Humble Vessel) stand next to you. You are playing the Proud Vessel.

Start the lesson by pouring some liquid into both cups. Tell the kids that the water in these cups represents the different talents, gifts, and wisdom that God pours into our lives. You have to emphasize that these gifts don’t come from ourselves. A lot of people get knowledge or a degree, and suddenly they think they’re all that and a bag of chips. You need to hit them with the analogy right here: If you ever see a turtle on a fence post, it didn’t get there by itself! Someone had to put it up there. Even if it was a talented turtle, where did that talent come from? Exactly: God.

Now, you have to show the two choices. Say God has given your volunteer a fantastic gift, like working with kids or a talent for singing. Ask them directly: What are you going to do with that gift? Instruct the volunteer to immediately pour their liquid into a separate container or back into the pitcher. They are pouring it out for God’s kingdom, giving to others. But then, when you, the Proud Vessel, get the same gift, hold your cup still and emphatically say, “Nope, nope, nope.” You keep the gift all to yourself, holding onto it and not allowing it to be used.

Now, God fills us again with something new, like a spiritual gift. Pour more liquid into both cups a second time. For your humble volunteer, the liquid goes right in because they made space. But for you, the Proud Vessel, the liquid just adds to what you already have, leaving your cup fuller. You are feeling good about yourself, thinking, “Look at the gifts I’ve gotten.” Your cup is almost full, while their cup is still ready for more. God, being God, will try one more time. Pour more liquid into both cups a third time. Your volunteer’s cup takes it all, but the Proud Vessel’s cup immediately starts to spill over onto the table. You are completely full and proud, but you are overflowing and wasting God’s gifts. Because the volunteer poured out, they can be filled again and again and again.

Finish with the ultimate contrast. Tell the kids that one day, we all get to the other side (Heaven). God will show us how much we truly poured out for His kingdom. Hold up the volunteer’s cup, which should still be mostly full, and then hold up your cup, which will have spilled or be completely full but wasted. Because the volunteer was humble and gave away their gifts, their reward is great. But your cup, the prideful vessel, only has a little bit of God’s gift left that you weren’t able to use because you were holding on. It’s that simple, but it proves a great point: We should be humble and not proud.