The Good ol' Days

                My husband and I are blessed with a very happy and beautiful son. Because of this, we cannot seem to go anywhere without getting a lot of attention. When we go to family gatherings, our son seems to be the star of the show. When we go to church, everyone wants to see the baby and look at how happy he is. We cannot go through the grocery store without being stopped at least three or four times by strangers who want to see our child. As parents, my husband and I are filled with pride because of this and our boy loves the attention! Being the youngest in my family, I remember being the object of all of that attention when I was a child and I became very prideful. I thought I was the prettiest and sweetest little girl in the world because of how much I was loved!

                In Matthew 18, the disciples ask which one of them will be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. At first this seems like a very prideful question (and it is), but it also seems that finally the disciples are focusing on the Kingdom of God rather than what is happening on earth. Jesus then pulls over a child and says whoever humbles himself like a child is the greatest, but I was not humble as a child at all. I realize now that there it is easy to misread this passage as an American born in the late 1900 because of the differences in culture between now and then.

                In American culture today, we often elevate children in society. As we get older, we try to look younger. The majority of marketing is targeted at children between the age of 14 and 21. We consider adolescence to last from ages 11 to 21 and most people consider their “prime” in life to be some point in their 20s. We view getting older as something to be avoided as long as possible. In Jesus’ culrue, on the other hand, elders were considered to be the “prime” of society. There was no such thing as “adolescence” at that time. What we consider to be teenagers, they considered to be young adults who could start contributing to society. Children were not elevated as they are in our culture, but were considered to be unwise and not nearly as skilled or useful as adults. Children had not yet earned the right to make their opinions known and did not assume they knew more than someone else or were better at something than someone else because they were the least experienced.

                When Jesus used the example of a child, He was telling the disciples not to think of themselves as better than anyone else. He was letting them know that they should not ask who is the greatest because they should not be assuming they are better than anyone. I wonder then, who do I think I am better than? Who do I always assume I am wiser than? If I know something that someone else does not know, do I assume that I am smarter than that person and do I really have the right to assume that? I want to change my thinking and get away from asking the question “Who is greater?” and instead see God’s purpose in each interaction I have with other people.

                God, please help me to keep my heart humble and not compare myself to other people. Help me to use the time I spend with others to accomplish Your purpose rather than fill my heart with pride. Thank you for Your patience with me as I work to humble myself. Amen.