THEE OVER SOPHISTICATED CHILD

When my family and I go to the playground, I usually have to carry our two-year-old to the play area. This is because, if I don't, she takes off in any direction out of pure excitement. She doesn't understand the dangers of running away in public without looking back. So, I must hold her in my arms while she aggressively squirms and wails to let her go. Imagine we arrive at the playground. I set her down. As soon as her shoes touch the woodchips, she's off. She doesn't even give me time to wipe her nose, fix her shirt, or rearrange her shorts.

THE UNSOPHISTICATED CHILD

It doesn't take a genius to conclude that little children are unsophisticated people. They don't look back and ask, "Hey dad, is there food in my teeth?"  before they go have fun. They pursue everything with their full strength and passion. There's not much thought about it. "I want it; it's fun; it makes me happy; I love it." This is their rationale, and it's something we can learn from as adults.

THE SOPHISTICATED CHILD

On the other spectrum. We grow up and lose our innocence. After we experience the evil that this world has to offer, we lose our natural heart posture that was originally God-centered. Our innocence is stolen, and we conclude that the world is pretty unfriendly. By the time we come into the workforce, we're beaten down, traumatized, and sophisticated adult children with a bunch of defense mechanisms. We have an answer to every question, an excuse to every feedback, and we shrink back at oversentimental moments. I remember when my wife, Deja, bought our daughter medicine with honey as the main ingredient. My response to her was that any medicine that tastes like honey is not medicine; it's candy. And when she responded with, "Can you speak some life into it?"  I marveled. I realized immediately that my statement was a pile of hot, sophisticated garbage that added nothing to my daughter's healing. In layman's terms, as my daughter would say, "That's not nice, Daddy.".

THE PURSUIT OF LIFE

Sophistication alone isn't a bad thing. It's when our sophistication makes us lose sight that we are children before God's eyes. Sophistication is not a suit and tie; it's what happens when we fall in love with our personal knowledge of "things." This reflects our self-image and how we see the world around us. It hardens our hearts, and we become unmoved by life's simplicities. Whether you're an infant or a centennial, you're still a child compared to an eternal God. I spent years letting knowledge become my life teacher, and it's cost me a lot of joy and genuine love that I failed to receive. Please know that all the education in the world does not mean anything before the love that Jesus Christ has for you. If you consider yourself a cloth cut above the rest and you want a full life, then you would be more excellent if you were able to receive love and love others with the heart of a child. For a long time, I couldn't be loved by others because I was rejecting myself and others. What point is there in dying just to regret not expressing yourself more? Please let go of the sophisticated heart of an adult; it will not produce the best and purest fruit. If you want to be great in the eyes of God, then seek him like my daughter seeks the snacks in the pantry. Put your full heart into it with joy and excitement, and do not feel ashamed to love Jesus Christ. In the heart of a child lies the greatest strength in loving relationships and, most importantly, our God.

MATTHEW 18:1-4

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.