What do you have that you did not receive?

Today my youngest daughter was playing with her sister and their friends and, as often happens in such cases, came in crying. When I asked her what was wrong I discovered that she was sad because her friends had told her that they didn't like one of her toys. I'm not really sure that they actually told her in such a way, but it wouldn't surprise me in any case because many of her toys are for a kid that is younger than they are (her sister is 3 years older than her and the oldest of the four friends is older still). It struck me as interesting because in their young minds it makes sense that they wouldn't want to play with a little kid's toys, even though, of course, they are all little kids and they all have little kid toys; but since everything is relative and at their particular age they are always right they don't see the weird inconsistency in their thinking. It is because of this that I believe we parents have as our duty to pass on mature ways of thinking. I would say "adult" ways of thinking but many adults in our society haven't learned mature ways of thinking so that would be a misleading label. Most people behave exactly as my kids do, believing their own way of thinking to be absolute truth and uninterested in what absolute truth actually is. In any case, I think that the way that I saw my kids' behavior today is most likely how God sees us humans when we fight and bicker over things that make no sense in the long run and yet we believe ourselves to be right in all circumstances. The passage in 1 Corinthians 4:6-7 is applicable here, I think:

I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

I like the question Paul asks in verse 7, "What do you have that you did not receive?" I think it would be a good idea for us to ask ourselves this question often since it really points to God's view of us. What do we have that we did not receive? The answer would be, "Absolutely nothing." Air? Light? Life? Work? Children? Loved ones? No, we received all of that and earned none of it. We have nothing that we have not received, and so Paul follows up the question (since its answer is so obvious he does not have to actually state it) with another marvelous question: "If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?" Yes, absolutely, why do we humans boast about anything as if we did not receive it? Because of course it is in our nature to do so. We believe ourselves to be so important and to have earned so many of blessings. We worked so hard for them and so we are so puffed up as though we did not receive the very air that we breathe. How ridiculous we are. I'm going to try making "What do you have that you did not receive?" my new motto and repeat it to myself constantly to see if it helps to beat down my idiotic boastful pride. I'll let you know how that goes.