On behalf of parents everywhere, I would like thank the star of the French Olympic swimming relay team for providing a wonderful teachable moment in homes across the world last night. The star, puffed up with hubris over his team's chances leading into the showdown against the U.S. team, had said, "The Americans? We're going to smash them. That's what we came here for."

The teachable moment came when we viewed a potent illustration of this ancient Jewish proverb: "Pride goes before a fall, a haughty spirit before destruction" (Prov 16:18).