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Become Like Children
The Divine Guideline At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And he called a child to himself and set him before them, and said, Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.— Matthew 18:1-3, NAS Kent Humphreys The words of the Bible are written to elevate thinking to a spiritual level. Jesus spoke so that those attuned to his words could assimilate them and be blessed. Many who heard his words missed this blessing because their spiritual ears were not properly attuned. Paul described them: “Go to this people and say, You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; and you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; for the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return” (Acts 28:26,27, NAS). Matthew 18 contains thirty-five verses, thirty-two of which contain the spoken words of Jesus. Although verses 15 to 17 receive much attention in discussions about conflicts between brethren, the entire chapter has much about character development and its role in conflict resolution. There are five cautions in the introductory words of Jesus which, if not heeded, can lead to spiritual downfall. These are lack of humility (verses 1-5), deliberate stumbling of others (verses 6,7), self-centeredness (verses 8,9), lack of mercy (verses 10-14), and lack of forgiveness (verses 21-35). Lack of Humility and Self-centeredness Humility and a genuine interest in others are described in the letters to Titus and Timothy as necessary qualities for both elders and deacons in the church. These offices carry great responsibility. Individuals elected to these positions by the ecclesia should possess a certain amount of self-esteem to be effective leaders and make proper judgments, but they must not elevate themselves above those whom they serve. Paul calls this error “self-willed” (Titus 1:7) When an elder dismisses someone’s criticism as having no merit, he is exhibiting this presumptuous sin. Peter identifies this as a character deficiency: “But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities” (2 Peter 2:10). Every elder ought to acknowledge that his ability to serve is because of God’s spirit within him, not to some inherent ability of his own. He thus should steer praise from himself to the Lord for a well-received study or discourse, and take to heart and examine criticisms when they are expressed. “Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven … Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish” (Matthew 18:3,14). Thus Jesus refers to the qualities of humility and trust in children as setting an example for a Christian to emulate. Growing to adulthood, both physically for children and spiritually for Christians, brings a substantial amount of contact with the ways of the world and the opportunity to become callous and jaded. Limiting the influence of the outside world is suggested in Scripture through the sanctification process. As children focus their attention on the one teaching them, we should fix our attention on Jesus and his teaching. Deliberate Stumbling of Others We should never try to resolve a conflict by throwing a stumbling block before our brethren. This often happens in the world when a person attempts to discredit another person’s point of view rather than support their own through solid reasoning and sound logic. This kind of behavior should not happen in the church: “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!” (Matthew 18:7, NAS) Mercy and Forgiveness Jesus admonished us to be compassionate and merciful: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7, RSV). In verses 23-34 of Matthew 18, Jesus relates the story of a king who showed mercy on a servant who owed him a great debt. The king forgave the servant the entire debt. However, that servant did not show similar mercy on others who owed him money. Consequently, he was required to pay the king the entire amount he owed. This he could not do and so he was thrown into prison. Jesus used this parable to teach that when we ask the Lord to forgive us our trespasses, we must be prepared to forgive those who have trespassed against us. This is the spirit of the law of God and the proper act of love and compassion. Forgiveness is so important in developing our character that the inability to forgive others will ultimately prevent us from becoming part of the body of Christ: “Then Peter came and said to the him, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times? Jesus said to him, I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21,22, NAS). “Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother” (Matthew 18:15). Forgiveness depends on both parties acknowledging a problem exists and a willingness to discuss it and resolve it. It is important because one who has committed a trespass may not realize the damage caused to another by some action or words. Understand the Matter Thoroughly There are many times when two opinions conflict with one another, and most of the time the parties involved just need to understand each other clearly for a conflict to be resolved. However, when a direct approach does not resolve the issue, additional help is needed: “But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican” (Matthew 18:16,17). For this procedure to work, witnesses must be objective, or the members of the assembly hearing the matter must be capable of rendering unbiased judgment. That may be difficult if one of the parties is prominent in the ecclesia. Even when following the proper procedure, good judgment, discretion, and sagacity, or keen perception are necessary qualities for those who are hearing the matter. The apostle Paul verifies this is necessary in his own statements about judgment and discernment: “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:12-16, NAS). Love Conquers All There was a story told of two men who had directly faced each other on opposing sides in World War II, one American and the other Japanese. Both were burdened with guilt long after the war ended. The families of the two men who had hated one another in the heat of battle made arrangements for them to come together. On the appointed day the two old men approached one another, looked into each other’s eyes, embraced with tears streaming down their faces and simultaneously asked forgiveness from each other! Once these two men had released the hate from all those years, their burden was lifted. Unknowingly, they had experienced the results of following Jesus’ commandment. Such will be the scene in the kingdom between many who opposed each other in this age. Ultimately, love must prevail in all conflict resolution if the resolution is to be successful. This may not always be possible in this present evil world. Each party involved must keep in mind the overriding words of the apostle Paul: “Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly: it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). |