Truth Taught: Love puts others first and builds them up, while pride focuses on ourselves and leaves us empty.
Materials:
- A balloon
- A small building block set (like LEGO® or wooden blocks)
- Bible
Instructions:
- Begin by showing the balloon. Start to blow it up and ask: What happens when I blow air into this balloon? (It gets bigger.) Explain: This balloon is like pride. Pride is when we focus only on ourselves and don’t give thanks to God or others for what we have.
- Ask: Have you ever done something good, but only cared about getting credit or praise? That’s pride—when we think only about making ourselves look big and important.
- Next, show the building blocks. Begin stacking them into a small structure. Explain: This is what love does—it builds up others. Love is when we think about what’s best for someone else, even when it’s hard for us. Love means putting someone else’s needs ahead of our own.
- Read 1 Corinthians 8:1 (NLT): “But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church.” Explain: Pride may make us feel important, but it doesn’t help others or make us stronger. Love, on the other hand, helps people grow and makes us strong together.
- Ask: What would happen if I keep blowing up the balloon too much? Blow it up until it’s about to pop. Explain: Pride can puff us up so much that we can burst—it leads to problems. But love is like these blocks—it helps us build something strong that doesn’t fall apart.
- Encourage the children to share examples of how they can “build others up” by showing love—helping a friend, sharing, or being kind.
- Finish by saying: God doesn’t want us to be full of pride, because pride forgets to give thanks to him and others for our blessings. Instead, he wants us to show love, because love puts others first and helps everyone grow stronger together.
Aha Moment: The balloon about to burst helps children understand the dangerous consequences of pride, while the sturdy building blocks reinforce how love builds strong relationships.