The "Fresh Prince" and self-made man

"In West Philadelphia, born and raised, on the playground is how he spent most of his days... I got in one little fight and my mom got scared. She said, you're moving with your auntie and uncle in Bel Air."

If you were a kid/teen in the '90's, you know the song. It's the intro to the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air", starring Will Smith. Will was a kid from Philly, whose mother sent him to live with his aunt and uncle to get him out of a bad situation.

I was watching an episode of the Fresh Prince the other day and part of the story tied in really well with the lesson I was working on for Wednesday night. Will was starting to feel like he was too much like Carlton(his cousin who he thought was rich and spoiled). So, instead of using money from his uncle to pay for homecoming, Will decided to go out and get a job without telling his family. Before long, word got back to his aunt and uncle that Will was missing curfew, falling asleep in class, and skipping basketball practice. 

This turned into a confrontation between Will and Uncle Phil at the restaurant. Will explained how he was just trying to be a man and make his own way. Uncle Phil's response was what got me thinking. He said, "Nobody does anything without help... people opened doors for me. And, I worked hard to open doors for you! It doesn't make you any less of a man to walk through them."

 

 What does this have to do with my lesson? I am glad you asked. We were studying out of Jeremiah 18:

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words.” 3 So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.

5 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.

 As Christians, we need to remember salvation does not come from anything we do. It is a gift from God through Jesus Christ, our savior. That is the only way to be found right in His sight. We cannot do enough good or earn our way to heaven, because we have all messed up.

In this world, the self-made man is glorified. Getting somewhere on our own is something we take pride in. We must remember we are only as valuable as we allow God to make us. We must allow God to go to work and form us into something great.

This race is all about walking through that door of grace Jesus himself opened up on the cross!