Culture Welcoming the Child Barry Casey | February 27, 2018 | Spirituality Listen to this story: ***</p> <p></p> <p>The grownups are acting like children, we say, when they squabble and bicker over who gets to be first in line. In the midst of this revolutionary experiment of living up to a higher plane, the disciples want to know, in all seriousness, who will be first in the kingdom of heaven. But Jesus does not react with impatience or astonishment. Instead, he draws a child to him and, encircling him with his arms, speaks of turning in the opposite direction, away from the door which the adults have crafted and toward a child’s doorway, one that you would have to bend down to get through—that is, if you’d even noticed it.</p> <p></p> <p>Once again, Jesus reverses expectations with such abruptness that you can almost see the skid marks. “Become like children,” he says, in a society in which children, while loved, were to be seen and not heard. Decisions were made <em>for</em> children, not with them. Children gazed upward, puzzled, as the adults vigorously debated the consequences of their behaviors and the perils of nonconformity over their heads. No one, having been a child, would want to return to that state.</p> <p></p> <p>To turn around on this track (the word is <em>metanoia</em>, to repent) means to recapture the difference between childishness and childlikeness, the latter of which picks up the simplicity and trustfulness of childhood. We cannot, knowing what we know as adults, simply reverse the tape and re-record our lives. Nor is there any goodness in a pious helplessness that refuses action without a direct command from God.</p> <p></p> <p>We don’t chide children for being “childish.” It’s what we call people whose behavior doesn’t match their age. But to be “childlike” is to suggest a sense of trust, of wonder, of innocence. When spoken of an adult there is sometimes a tinge of pity, as if this naif was off picking flowers when he should have been reading up survival guides for the apocalypse. Sometimes you sense a bit of wistfulness for eyes that can see goodness in the world or in another person.</p> <p></p> <p>And then there is Paul:</p> <p></p> <blockquote> <p><em>When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways…Brothers and sisters, do not be children in your thinking; rather be infants in evil, but in thinking be adults. </em>— I Corinthians 13:11; 14:20</p> <p> </p></blockquote> <p></p> <p>Except you become as a little child you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.</p> <p></p> <p>Christ wants us to be childlike; Paul wants us to grow up.</p> <p></p> <p>It’s a question of maturity and, as Reinhold Niebuhr suggests in <em><a href="http://amzn.to/2GNvAuC">Beyond Tragedy</a>,</em> “Childhood cannot see beyond its time and place. Maturity extends the range of its knowledge to larger areas of life and experience. Maturity is thus the fulfillment of the promise of creation. It represents a larger life than childhood.”</p> <p></p> <p>But maturity can also signal the atrophy of imagination and eagerness. Sincerity devolves into deviousness, ‘mere’ honesty into becoming brutally honest. Maturity that has lost its anticipation of the new relies on the sighs of cynicism to carry the weight of authority.</p> <p></p> <p>The consciousness of childhood gives way to the self-consciousness of the youth, and the egotism of the adult. Every adult experiences the reality of the Fall, over and over, in the course of life. Our rational freedom, a gift from God, opens possibilities to transcend our situation. But it’s also reason which often sabotages our ability to achieve such harmony. Niebuhr warns that, “Therefore man is estranged from himself and discovers that there is a law in his members which wars against the law that is in his mind (138).”</p> <p></p> <p>Becoming as a little child again is not a promise of a recaptured innocence. “To repent and be converted,” says Niebuhr, “cannot mean to achieve perfect honesty. It must mean to achieve the honesty of knowing that we are not honest (142).”</p> <p></p> <p>Paul sees spiritual maturity as the conscious evolution of the child in Christ. There’s no condescension toward being a child: the child speaks, thinks, and reasons as a child should. Rising to maturity, on the other hand, is not inevitable as one clocks the years. The very fact that Paul has to exhort the Corinthians suggests that becoming an adult involves a clear-eyed decision to take the long view over the short-term gratification of childishness.</p> <p></p> <p>“Be infants in evil,” says Paul, “but in thinking be adults.” Paul, of all people, is neither naive nor cynical. Don’t be experts in the latest ways to do others in. Don’t be sophisticated in your conspiracies against your enemies. Be innocent of evil and be grown up in how you think.</p> <p></p> <p align="center">***</p> <p></p> <p>As I say, I remember Jesus from that day, the last time I would see him. He went up to Jerusalem. He was killed there, my father told us. Something else happened soon after. My father wouldn’t say much about it, but every time he talked about it he’d shake his head in wonder. A few years later someone read us a letter at our gathering that said, “Now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.”</p> <p></p> <p align="center">***</p> <p></p> <p>“And we are put on earth a little space,<br /><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">That we may learn to bear the beams of love.”</span><br /><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">— William Blake, <a href="http://amzn.to/2ou9qHc">Songs of Innocence</a></span></p> <p></p> <p> </p> <p></p> <p><em>Barry Casey taught religion, philosophy, and communications for 28 years at Columbia Union College, now Washington Adventist University, and business communication at Stevenson University for 7 years. He continues as adjunct professor in ethics and philosophy at Trinity Washington University, D.C. More of the author’s writing can be found on his blog, <a href="https://danteswoods.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dante’s Woods</a>.</em></p> <p></p> <p><em>Image Credit:</em> <em>Carolina Sanchez / <a href="https://www.unsplash.com/">Unsplash</a></em></p> <p></p> <p> </p> <p></p> <p><strong><em>If you respond to this article, please:</em></strong></p> <p></p> <p><strong><em>Make sure your comments are germane to the topic; be concise in your reply; demonstrate respect for people and ideas whether you agree or disagree with them; and limit yourself to one comment per article, unless the author of the article directly engages you in further conversation. Comments that meet these criteria are welcome on the Spectrum Website. 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12.496 32.758 0 45.254s-32.758 12.496-45.254 0L367.248 412.502C335.862 434.854 297.467 448 256 448c-106.039 0-192-85.962-192-192z' fill='rgba(17, 35, 55, 0.65)'/%3E%3C/svg%3E");--gf-label-space-y-secondary: var(--gf-label-space-y-md-secondary);--gf-ctrl-border-color: #686e77;--gf-ctrl-size: var(--gf-ctrl-size-md);--gf-ctrl-label-color-primary: #2f2f3b;--gf-ctrl-label-color-secondary: #2f2f3b;--gf-ctrl-choice-size: var(--gf-ctrl-choice-size-md);--gf-ctrl-checkbox-check-size: var(--gf-ctrl-checkbox-check-size-md);--gf-ctrl-radio-check-size: var(--gf-ctrl-radio-check-size-md);--gf-ctrl-btn-font-size: var(--gf-ctrl-btn-font-size-md);--gf-ctrl-btn-padding-x: var(--gf-ctrl-btn-padding-x-md);--gf-ctrl-btn-size: var(--gf-ctrl-btn-size-md);--gf-ctrl-btn-border-color-secondary: #686e77;--gf-ctrl-file-btn-bg-color-hover: #EBEBEB;--gf-field-pg-steps-number-color: rgba(47, 47, 59, 0.8);}</style><div id='gf_4' class='gform_anchor' tabindex='-1'></div><form method='post' enctype='multipart/form-data' target='gform_ajax_frame_4' id='gform_4' action='/culture/welcoming-child/#gf_4' data-formid='4' novalidate><div class='gf_invisible ginput_recaptchav3' data-sitekey='6LdLBxYpAAAAAORFFghzvqFsmrsl0PGDQgy4iVlE' data-tabindex='0'><input id="input_b1d5f7a0c3a2154bb174a190015425ba" class="gfield_recaptcha_response" type="hidden" name="input_b1d5f7a0c3a2154bb174a190015425ba" value=""/></div> <div class='gform-body gform_body'><div id='gform_fields_4' class='gform_fields top_label form_sublabel_below description_below validation_below'><div id="field_4_1" class="gfield gfield--type-email gfield--input-type-email gfield--width-five-sixths gfield_contains_required field_sublabel_below gfield--no-description field_description_below hidden_label field_validation_below gfield_visibility_visible" data-js-reload="field_4_1" ><label class='gfield_label gform-field-label' for='input_4_1'>Email<span class="gfield_required"><span class="gfield_required gfield_required_text">(Required)</span></span></label><div class='ginput_container ginput_container_email'> <input name='input_1' id='input_4_1' type='email' value='' class='large' placeholder='Enter your email address...' aria-required="true" aria-invalid="false" /> </div></div><div id="field_submit" class="gfield gfield--type-submit gfield--width-one-sixth field_sublabel_below gfield--no-description field_description_below field_validation_below gfield_visibility_visible" data-field-class="gform_editor_submit_container" data-field-position="inline" data-js-reload="true" ><input type='submit' id='gform_submit_button_4' class='gform-button gform-button--white button' value='Join' onclick='if(window["gf_submitting_4"]){return false;} if( !jQuery("#gform_4")[0].checkValidity || jQuery("#gform_4")[0].checkValidity()){window["gf_submitting_4"]=true;} ' onkeypress='if( event.keyCode == 13 ){ if(window["gf_submitting_4"]){return false;} if( !jQuery("#gform_4")[0].checkValidity || jQuery("#gform_4")[0].checkValidity()){window["gf_submitting_4"]=true;} jQuery("#gform_4").trigger("submit",[true]); }' /></div><div id="field_4_2" class="gfield gfield--type-honeypot gform_validation_container field_sublabel_below gfield--has-description field_description_below field_validation_below gfield_visibility_visible" data-js-reload="field_4_2" ><label class='gfield_label gform-field-label' for='input_4_2'>Email</label><div class='ginput_container'><input name='input_2' id='input_4_2' type='text' value='' autocomplete='new-password'/></div><div class='gfield_description' id='gfield_description_4_2'>This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.</div></div></div></div> <div class='gform_footer top_label'> <input type='hidden' name='gform_ajax' value='form_id=4&title=&description=&tabindex=0&theme=orbital' /> <input type='hidden' class='gform_hidden' name='is_submit_4' value='1' /> <input type='hidden' class='gform_hidden' name='gform_submit' value='4' /> <input type='hidden' class='gform_hidden' name='gform_unique_id' value='' /> <input type='hidden' class='gform_hidden' name='state_4' value='WyJbXSIsIjQ2YzVmYmRiOTNjNDNhMmY0ZTM0YjAyNTI4OTU5NDFiIl0=' /> <input type='hidden' class='gform_hidden' name='gform_target_page_number_4' id='gform_target_page_number_4' value='0' /> <input type='hidden' class='gform_hidden' name='gform_source_page_number_4' id='gform_source_page_number_4' value='1' /> <input type='hidden' name='gform_field_values' value='' /> </div> </form> </div> <iframe style='display:none;width:0px;height:0px;' src='about:blank' name='gform_ajax_frame_4' id='gform_ajax_frame_4' title='This iframe contains the logic required to handle Ajax powered Gravity Forms.'>
