"At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, 'Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.'" (Matthew 18:1-3)
I remember how simple it all was as a child growing up, how simple a child-like faith was to have, how simple it was to look around at all of God's creation and see the beauty in spite of the bad, how simple it was to "just believe" and know the love of God that dispelled fear, how simple it was to look at someone who outwardly appeared different or whose motivations, likes and dislikes were different, and accept them as they were simply because they were, how simple it was to forgive someone, how simple it was as a child to have a simple appreciation of life and how a baby sparrow fallen from a nest would always find a home in a shoe box until it could fly on its own and even a baby mouse lost from its mother found compassion.
As a small child there was no such thing as hatred because someone's skin pigment was lighter or darker, no social casting because of economic standing, no rejection because of physical appearance, no branding because of lack of ability, no exaltation because of ability, no harboring grudges because of mistakes, no ill jealousies because of possessions. No. There was only acceptance until these became learned behavior handed down to us by someone in authority over us ... a parent or parents, a teacher or teachers, our own ruling government and laws that are not administered gracefully and equally, and, heaven help us, even our own devised church doctrines that separate rather than unite, that exalt some and put others down based solely upon their agreement or disagreement with our own biases and opinions.
And how fast we learn, how fast we pick up these learned behavior patterns, how eager we are to jump on the band wagon when the pecking order starts falling into place, when the cliques and clubs begin to form, how quick we are to identify with groups, ideals, opinions, parties, doctrines that make us feel like we have some kind of "one up" on someone else.
I'm talking about life as it really is. I'm talking about what I see going on in our public schools, private schools, work places, political places, home places, shopping places, playing places and even in our church places. I'm talking about what happens in the life of every human being born on this planet.
There's a song that I've heard recently by a young artist named Shawn Mullins entitled "Shimmer." It starts out with some very powerful lines:
... sharing with us what he knows ... shining eyes are big and blue ... and all around him water flows ... this world to him is new ... this world to him is new ... to touch a face ... to kiss a smile ... new eyes see no race ... the essence of a child ... the essence ... he's born to shimmer ... he's born to shine ... he's born to radiate ... he's born to live ... he's born to love ... but we'll teach him how to hate ...
And the last part of the song says ... I want to shimmer ... I want to shine ... I want to radiate ... I want to live ... I want to love ... I want to try to learn not to hate ... try not to hate ... we're born to shimmer ... we're born to shine ... we're born to radiate ... we're born to live ... we're born to love ... we're born to never hate ...
It's a powerful song with a powerful message. You won't find it in the Christian section, but it expresses so perfectly what Jesus said when he used the child as an object lesson.
I don't know when the quip was first said or quoted. I don't even remember the first time I heard it but we've all heard it and quite likely we've all used it at one time or another. But it's a lie that's been promoted and propagated for years and whoever started it didn't have a clue concerning life. It talks about sticks and rocks and words and goes, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me." And, even before these words roll off the tongue of a child, the harm is already done. Already, before the words are framed with the lips of a child, something has occurred in the mind and in the heart to set a soul on a defensive course having to perform triage to areas of the heart that have been inflicted with wounds, wounds that create scars, scars that create hard spots in the heart and soul that often last a lifetime.
It happens to children. It happens to adults. It happens to leaders whose intentions are only pure and sincere by people whom they are endeavoring to serve. It happens to men and women by leaders who fail to recognize and value the place and worth of every human being. It happens anytime any person, or any group of people, tries to impose their own desires and dictates upon another person or group of people.
There's not a soul reading this who's not been at both ends of the spectrum ... at both ends of the giving and receiving spectrum. We are all guilty of doing it. We are all victims of getting it. It seems like it's the "all too human" thing to do and we've all created injuries. We've all been injured.
And these are injuries that require a lot more than a Band-aid and a Tylenol. These are heart and soul injuries that "dry the bones." These are deep injuries that drain strength and rob vitality. These are injuries with the potential to ruin people more disasterously than the effects of alcohol or drugs or any form of licentiousness. And, honestly, more times than not, these are the winds and tides that push people toward vices and devices in their attempts to cope with the inner pain of their injuries.
When we fail to do the positives of love and succeed in doing the negatives of hate, even in their subtle forms, forms like subtle rejection, subtle gossip, subtle envying, you know the stuff that I'm talking about, the stuff that we usually won't do in the face of people we smile at when they are around but comes so easily behind their backs, stuff that always makes its way to the person of topic, things that go in through their ears to slice bleeding gaping chunks out of their hearts, not only are we tearing someone down, we are also discrediting ourselves and making our own lives less meaningful, less effective, less impressive.
Jesus said, "Unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."
Children, before their hearts and souls are contaminated by prejudice, envy, greed, ambition, jealousy, before their hearts and souls become inundated with insecurities, before their hearts and souls become permeated with pride never practice malice, overtly or covertly. Children walk before God and the rest of mankind in a state of innocence.
If Jesus was the Great Teacher and Prophet, and I believe he was, if Jesus said what he meant to say, and I believe he did, then we have to conclude that until we change, until we return to living as innocents, we are far from the truth and reality of the kingdom of God no matter how many principles and precepts we've memorized from Scripture, no matter how many seminars or classes we've attended, no matter what theology we espouse, no matter how many causes we support, no matter which names are household names in our homes, no matter how many times we attend church services, no matter how often we sit and read our Bibles or pray, no matter how charismatic or how traditional we are in our lifestyle or worship. No matter. No matter. No matter.
And until we change, until we return to innocence, these are nothing more than religious acts that have little or no potential or possibility of making any significant difference in the world that we live in today, a world that is open and receptive to spiritual truth and readily rejecting the religious traditions of man.
©David Kralik Ministries, Inc. 2002
Email: matthewfivesix@hotmail.com |
