DAILY HOMILIES #infants

An African proverb says that if a child washes his hands very well, he will be invited to sit at the table and eat with the elders. In other words, if we are humble, regardless of our size and status, we will be granted access to high places. Humility will put people under us, like the child leading the lion, the leopard, the wolf, and the lamb.

As a child, I never doubted God. It was very easy to believe everything I was told. The biblical stories made sense to me because I could see their lessons. Even though I had no evidence, I never asked: “Did that really happen?” The stories were real to me as long as I could imagine them. We must have this attitude about God’s kingdom: a deep sense of humility, the willingness to learn, never claiming to know more than one’s teacher, and a readiness to follow instructions to the letter with a sense of trust in God.

If God could “forget” His greatness for my sake, why can’t I learn to bring myself down, why can’t I humble myself as a child in my dealings with others? Pride is really a blinding sickness. Not only does it make you blind to the greatness of God, pride makes you believe you are God.