Articles
In Evil Be Children
The next time you find yourself annoyed with children, just try to remember the situation surrounding Jesus and His disciples in both Matthew 19:13 and Luke 18:15-17, “And they were bringing even their little children to Him so that He might touch them, but when the disciples saw it they began rebuking them. But Jesus called for them, saying, ‘Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it at all.’”
So what is it that we lose when we become adults? What are the child-like qualities that we should never let go in the business of maturing? Most importantly, what kind of change is Jesus is offering us in the gospel?
“Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be babes, but in your thinking be mature” (1 Corinthians 14:20). Even adults can be immature, at times, displaying attitudes of insecurity, intemperance, and selfishness. While we may never completely leave those childhood vices behind, we are given a duty as adults and Christians to “put away childish things” (1 Corinthians 13:11). When we see children displaying attitudes that are typical of their age, it is not surprising – but we expect much more from full-grown people. “Adults should behave as adults,” as Leroy Brownlow states it, “And this does not come without effort; so we should daily work at the problem of personality improvement lest we revert to the traits of our young and undeveloped lives” (The Christian’s Everyday Problems, Brownlow, 27).
There are a few qualities, however, that the Bible makes clear should stay with us our entire lives. The phrase “in evil be babes” should indicate to us that there is something pure about children. They are unstained by sin, having no great understanding of it or its consequences. They do not know what most sins are, such as homosexuality, polygamy, pornography, etc. This fact sets them apart from adults; they are singularly innocent of all guile, malice, strife, lewdness, and immorality, whereas adults have the daily problem of “putting these all aside” (Colossians 3:8). Their ignorance is not a weakness to them, but an endearing quality which makes even the youngest of them admirable.
