[Use the Humility Avatar PowerPoint with this presentation]
[PowerPoint Slide 1]
Dogs don't seem to come off too well in the world of proverbs. 'If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas' is a warning about the company we keep. 'Why keep a dog and bark yourself?' is often used dismissively as an explanation for letting someone else do an unappealing task. And the most famous dog proverb of them all, [click] 'You can't teach an old dog new tricks.'
Is that true? There's certainly an element of truth in it. When we get set in our ways, when we think we've worked out the best way of doing things, then it is hard for anyone to teach us. Here's a film clip to illustrate the point. The clip comes from the film Avatar. Jake Sully is an ex-marine who is working for a mining corporation. But the mining corporation has sent him to a far away planet, and his job is to get to know the native species, the Na'vi, and to learn their ways. To this end, Jake has been equipped with an avatar - a purpose grown Na'vi body which Jake's consciousness is plugged into. He looks just like one of the Na'vi, but he is still good old human ex-marine Jake. In this scene, Jake meets with the whole tribe of Na'vi, including their leader.
[Play the following clip from Avatar:
Start time: 0.42.18 (in chapter 12 of the DVD)
End time: 0.45.25
Clip length: Three minutes and 7 seconds
The clip starts with a number of Na'vi tribes-people gathering for a meeting. Start the clip when the scene shifts to the inside of the home-tree, rather than the outside. The first line - spoken in the Na'vi language with English subtitles - is Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) saying, 'Father… I see you.' The clip ends after Neytiri's mother says, 'Then we will see if your insanity can be cured.'
If you are unable to show the clip, say the following as an alternative:
'In the film Avatar, Jake Sully is an ex-marine working for a mining corporation on the planet Pandora. His job is to infiltrate the local people and learn more of their ways. To this end, he is given an avatar - a purpose-grown alien body that his consciousness can be plugged into. When he finally gets to meet the tribal leader and asks for the chance to learn their ways, he is told that none of the other 'dreamwalkers' sent by the humans have been able to do so - 'it is hard to fill a cup which is already full.' In contrast to the scientists, Jake argues that his cup is empty - he doesn't know anything! Reluctantly, the Na'vi agree to let him stay with them.']
[PowerPoint Slide 2]
When other humans had come to the Na'vi, their attempts at learning the Na'vi's ways had been a failure. They just couldn't understand the Na'vi or their way of life. Why was that? In the words of the priestess, 'It is hard to fill a cup which is already full.' In other words, you can't teach someone who thinks they already know everything. The previous human visitors assumed that their own culture and civilization was superior, so they were unable to learn from the Na'vi. Jake, on the other hand, claimed to be different. He was just a simple soldier, a dumb grunt. He knew that he didn't have all the answers.
Jesus said something similar about our willingness to learn, our openness to new ideas:
[PowerPoint Slide 3]
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
[PowerPoint Slide 4]
He called a little child, whom he placed among them. And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes a humble place-becoming like this child-is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:1-4
Today's New International Version
[PowerPoint Slide 5]
When Jesus said that to enter his kingdom, someone had to become like a little child, he didn't mean that he wanted everyone to pick their nose, wet their bed and keep asking 'are we there yet?' on long car journeys. Perhaps what he was getting at was precisely this willingness to accept that we don't already know all the answers. [click] Little children soak up learning. Scientists have estimated that 80% of brain development takes place when children are aged nought to five. Perhaps they learn so well because everything is new and wonderful, because they know that there is a whole world of learning just waiting for them to discover it. Jesus knew that his teaching on God's kingdom would turn the world upside down for many people. He knew that his revelation of God's plans would upset the religious establishment of the day. He knew that the only way people would be able to take it in and have their lives changed by it was if they were willing to be open to something new.
There's a challenge there for all of us. How open are we to new ideas? How willing are we to admit that perhaps we don't already have all the answers? It's obvious to point out that schools are places of learning, but we shouldn't restrict our learning to school. The world is a place of learning, if only we are willing to be taught.
Avatar (20th Century Fox, 2009, certificate 12)
