“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and 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.” Matthew 18:3-4 ESV1
Read Matthew 18:1-14, Mark 9:33-50 & Luke 9:46-50
In my life, I have worn a variety of hats. My different responsibilities have put me in positions where I have observed many arguments. Some of these arguments have been laughable, others hurtful. Many were passionate discussions which worked out themselves; others become quite heated and needed intervention.
When working with people, it doesn’t take long to discover competition is part of the human make up. We instinctively want to be on top. We tend to assume we are right, and when there are conflicts, we feel others must be wrong. We humans continually evaluate where we fit in any given group. From the time we are children, we compare ourselves and consciously (or unconsciously) compete in attempts to be the best, the fastest, the smartest, the prettiest, the most talented, etc.
An argument common among young boys takes the competition past their own abilities and focuses on the attributes of their fathers. It is not unusual, from time to time, to hear a boy exclaim, “My daddy is stronger than your daddy!” The argument need not necessarily focus on strength; maybe a boy claims his father is smarter, or richer (or any other appropriate adjective) than the fathers of those around him. But the statement is always made with the child’s confident expectation that his assertion will put him on top and finalize the argument.
Once, when Jesus’ twelve closest disciples were arguing among themselves, Jesus extinguished the heated debate by drawing their attention to the greatness of His Father.