Oh, to Be a Kid Again
Being a child of God doesn't always mean God wants us to be childish.
On occasion I have the privilege of eavesdropping on the conversation of a few 6th graders in the backseat of my car fresh from a day at school. Okay, they know I’m listening so it’s not really eavesdropping. But hearing what’s on their minds after a day at school is always refreshing.
“That was funny when Nick like, fell asleep in math?”
“I can’t wait ‘til we can wear shorts to school next week!”
“Our team is in the playoffs for recess sports. How ‘bout you guys?”
It makes me wish that when I recap my day it would be so simple but, alas, there are those adult stressors and problems that far outweigh such naiveté.
First of all, there’s the volume. A much longer list of concerns chases us around. Even when we lop off a few items it keeps growing and growing and following and following. Then there’s the complexity. That’s just the way it is; we adults understand so much more. We realize - or want to realize - all the possibilities of a given situation. All the “what ifs” of decision demand a hearing from us. Finally, those of us who are parents are not only responsible for our own personal calendars, but must also manage our children’s calendars (don’t you sometimes wish it could be the other way around - wouldn’t you just love to hear your son come into the kitchen for breakfast and say, “Mom, don’t forget you have a hair appointment at 2:45 today, but don’t worry, I’ll pick up Melissa and get her to band practice then take care of supper and help Stevie with his homework, oh, and I’ll make everyone’s lunches today”?).
Before you get too upset about being grown up, however, consider the following copy of The Toddler Property Laws:
1. If I like it, it’s mine.
2. If it’s in my hand, it’s mine.
3. If I can take it from you, it’s mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine.
5. If it’s mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way.
6. If I’m doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks just like mine, it’s mine.
8. If I think it’s mine, it’s mine.
9. If it’s yours and I steal it, it’s mine.
10. If I saw it first, or last, makes no difference, it’s still mine.
While we’d all agree that’s some worry-free living, the point is obvious. Being childish isn’t always a virtue. So adults do have at least one advantage! Christian adults have come to realize through experience and growing in our faith and understanding that selfishness is always there. Always asking. Always tempting. Always promising. Always deceiving. Children too easily give into selfishness because they’re often too insecure and inexperienced to realize that the pain of denying it is beneficial pain. Denying self is a path to Godliness according to Jesus. And where there is Godliness, there is God.
That’s the message we hear from the very aged, very experienced, very adult apostle John in his epistles near the very end of the Bible. More than a few times he refers to believers as children of God. That title appeals to us because it conveys simplicity. But being a child of God doesn’t always mean God wants us to be childish. There are virtues to being a child, but also vices.
One of those vices is the simplistic manner of dealing with selfishness, as demonstrated in The Toddler Property Laws above. For that vice, we have a virtue which comes not from our own understanding, or our own maturity, or our own grown up ways. This virtue is a gift. John puts it this way, “Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7).
True, unselfish love - for God and for others - has become ours by our spiritual rebirth into the Christian faith. True, unselfish love is in us by faith, not by works. It is ours before we even act it out. The patient love of heavenly Father for his children.
“Let us love one another,” John encourages, “for love comes from God” (1 John 4:7). Battling the vice of selfishness finds its success in your life when you fight not with your own determination, but with something greater. With the love that comes from God. So take a look at the childish behavior in the property laws above, apply it to your life circumstances, and recommit to loving others with the kind of love that comes from God. A love that God has shown you. A love that never fails.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, when I am tempted to be selfish and put myself ahead of others, replace my childish insecurity with a Christlike love. Embrace me with your promise to take care of everything in my life when I worry that loving others will cause me more harm than good. Encourage me to do what is right, even when I don’t see any reward, and use my loving actions to let others see your love. Amen.
(The Toddler Property Laws are copied from Homiletics magazine, April/May issue page 71)