It sounds like the start of a joke.

A chick walks into a brooder full of turkeys…

But it’s not a punchline — it’s poultry science.

On some farms, newly hatched chicks are placed alongside young turkeys to teach them how to live. Turkeys are a little slower to figure things out. They may not instinctively find food or water, and they sometimes need guidance just to respond to their surroundings.

But a chick? A chick comes ready. Curious. Energetic. Pecking at anything that looks edible. Drinking confidently. Exploring everything.

And the turkeys?

They watch. And they follow.

The chick’s example becomes a lifeline — not because the chick is trying to lead, but simply because it’s being what it already is.

That’s what makes it so beautiful.

The chick doesn’t lecture. It doesn’t instruct. It doesn’t even know it’s teaching. It just acts according to what was placed in it from the start — and that instinct becomes guidance for someone else.

How many times does Jehovah do the same with us?

He puts us beside someone who seems small, quiet, unlikely. Someone we wouldn’t expect to teach us anything. And then, without realizing it, they open a scripture. Or show kindness. Or face hardship with calm. And suddenly we’re learning from them — not because they meant to lead, but because they were just being faithful.

It’s humbling.

And hopeful.

Because it means we don’t have to be experienced or eloquent to make a difference. We just have to be faithful — and visible.

1 Timothy 4:12 (NWT) reminds us:

“Do not let anyone look down on your youth. Instead, be an example to the faithful ones in speaking, in conduct, in love, in faith, in chasteness.”

So if Jehovah can use a chick to teach a turkey…

Could someone smaller than me be my teacher?

Could someone like me be someone else’s?

References:

• 1 Timothy 4:12, New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT)

• Chick–turkey brooding behavior summarized from poultry farming and agricultural practice reports