Matthew 18:1-4

Matthew 18:1 – 4 ESV At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to Him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Pride is a dangerous thing. It was the downfall of Lucifer. It makes people think too highly of themselves and refuse to good advice and honest criticism. Pride tempts people to seek after honors and acclaim and keeps them from being content with meaningful but lower positions.

Jesus counters pride with the example of the humility of a child. Many people mistake humility with having a low opinion of yourself. Biblical humility is having an honest understanding of yourself. To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, humility is not an intelligent man thinking he is stupid or a pretty woman thinking she is ugly. It is the person acknowledging their intelligence or their beauty but realizing that it is a gift from God and giving Him the glory for it.

Children are not pretentious. They accept themselves as they are and are generally content with themselves. Jesus was saying that we should use the talents and abilities God has given us to advance His kingdom and be content with the roles that God provides for us.

Children are also willing to believe without much analysis. Therefore, they can believe in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy because their parents tell them they are real. Christians need that child-like faith to believe what God tells us. Pride tells us that we need to understand how everything works or we cannot accept it. There is much about God and His kingdom that we just can’t understand because His thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9). Unlike Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy, what God tells us is true, even if it doesn’t make sense to our limited minds.

So let us strive to get rid of pride in our mind so that we can have the pure child-like faith and humility and pleases God.

Lord, You are awesome! You are beyond my comprehension yet You reveal Yourself to me. Help me to trust You completely and to not consider myself more highly than I ought.