I’m in Kindergarten for 35 minutes a week. It’s the best! I teach Drama to these little guys, and I always leave with a smile. They’re just so cute.
Last week, we played a game where each student got to be the “director”. They came to front of the room and got to tell their fellow students how to act. Because they are 5-6 years old, most of the time the directions were to be some type of animal. We had tigers and snakes and dogs and, of course, unicorns. Also, because they are 5-6 years old, all of the animals loved to scream at the top of their lungs and race around the room.
But here’s the part I loved: every time I called a student up, the others responded with a “Yay Eva!” or “Yay Valentina!” or “Yay Wes!”
They could have responded with whining, “I want a turn!” Or a grumpy, “I never get picked”. But they didn’t. Rather than focusing on themselves, they were thinking of others, rejoicing with them, making each student that went up feel like a “star”. It made the whole game so much more fun for everyone!
I left that room thinking that we could all take a lesson from those little guys. How often do we watch others get “picked” for something we want – a position on a sports team, a part in a play, a higher grade, a better job – and get frustrated or whine? How often are we self-focused instead of others-focused?
Paul tells us in Philippians 2 that we should “think of others as more important than ourselves.” But how often do we really do that? I know I am much quicker to complain than to rejoice. And yet, when something great happens to me, I want those around me to rejoice. The excitement fades when they don’t.
I want to be like my little Kindergarten friends. When someone around me gets a promotion, I want to say “Yay, Stacy!” Or when someone gets a new car, “Yay, Paul!” I want to cheer and encourage my friends, not be selfish and think about what I want or what I don’t have.
God’s commands are always for our good; therefore, rejoicing with others is for our good. It will make us happier, less stressed, and even more grateful when blessings come our way.
So today, when a friend shares some good news, clap your hands and say, “Yay you!!” Then run around and scream like a unicorn 😉
