Matt 18:1-6 (KJV)
At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
When we observe a small child do we think of greatness? Do we see a kindergarten age child as a symbol of greatness? Of course, we do not see such a small child as a symbol of greatness. We see presidents, congressmen, millionaires, maybe pastors, and other big church leaders as great in our society. The apostles likewise looked at their society, the measures of a man, and were prompted to ask for quantifiable standards by which they could measure greatness in the coming kingdom. Jesus answer was simple, see this child, view yourself the same.
Children by and large have no rights, and their personal expectations are generally disregarded. How many children even as teens have a say in where they live or go to school. Their personal preferences may increase with age but they are not all fulfilled. This is why they struggle with authority. As the progress in growth they learn to evaluate and analyze their surroundings, make determinations, and select a mentality towards various events, places, and people. Then comes the struggle between authority, who may not have the same view or opinion, and the child. The child does not have the authority to carry out their plan and must capitulate to the adult.
We have evaluated our world, made our plans, and determined how things should be only to be confronted with God's reality. Often this brings conflict because we will not humble ourselves, like a child. So we begin to humble ourselves on a regular basis only to have someone tells us we are not right? I mean we are doing the best we can, or at least think we can? Even if the person is right and is not gentle to us little children we will kick, scream, or pout. Remember at this point we are talking about adults.
So, now for verse 6 and what I really want to address. "These little ones" in the Greek means anyone of lesser dignity. This is the Senior Pastor to Junior Pastor, Pastor to Flock, Sunday School Teacher to Class, School Teacher to Class, Upper Classman to Lower, etc… You get the idea. We are to exercise great care to not offend (entice to sin) someone who looks up to us or at least whose care we have been given. How scary is this warning now? Therefore, we must take great care to encourage and not discourage, find meeker ways to address problems, to demonstrate love and care. I am amazed how we forget that the goodness of God leads us to repentance. You would think that we had to feel the fires of hell first and then we can repent by the way we see problems handled. Instead we are convinced of hell, sin, and our just reward, but shown mercy, love, and God's kindness in our lives. Then we understand and cling in love, not fear (it is not perfect, and is not from God), to our Lord. Why then do we jump down a teen's throat? We as adults cannot handle this internal conflict without bad attitudes. Perhaps we all need to consider our actions before people. I do not know about you but that millstone thing does not sound fun.
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