CAMPBELLTON, New Brunswick, June 21, 2023 – Jesus teaches us that we need to be converted and become like little children to enter into the Kingdom.

What does he mean by that? Conversion, as a spiritual process, we can understand, but how can we become like little children again if we’re already adults? Should we put on kids’ clothes and wear pigtails?

I am not and have never been a game-player or manipulator, even though I’ve been surrounded by such people all my life. I’ve come to see game-playing and manipulating as standard adult behavior that people start to learn when they enter their “tween” years. I guess I must have missed that memo on how to gameplay and manipulate because I was always a terrible liar and I tended to take people at their word, finding out too late that they didn’t really mean what they’d said.

It was confusing for me as a young teen and older to find that people I’d grown up with were starting to use words as bargaining tools rather than statements of fact. The more I was betrayed by alleged friends, the more I retreated into my own world that grew smaller and darker as the years passed. I learned to make do without friends and only had short-term relationships with men. I had no interest in getting involved in anyone’s life because my experience had been that as soon as I got involved, that person would in some way betray me. They would say one thing and do another, as their words meant something different to them than they did to me.

Most children are not like that. Most kids, if they say they’re going to do something, they do it. If they say they feel something, they feel it. Most kids use words as a means of communicating their genuine thoughts and feelings rather than as bargaining chips or chess pieces. They play games, but just for fun. Some children do learn to manipulate, but only when they’re a bit older. Most young kids still take people at face value, still take them at their word. That’s why you have to be very careful about what you say around little children. They’re like sponges, soaking up every syllable they hear and processing it for meaning. They have to learn, over time and by watching older kids and adults, to use words deceptively, to say one thing and mean something else, as using words as tools of deception doesn’t come naturally to them.

I think this is part of what Jesus meant when he said we need to become like little children. He didn’t mean we should dress like kids and play hopscotch, but that we should take words at face value and also use them as such. We shouldn’t manipulate or lie. We should trust those who have been proven trustworthy and assume they’re acting in good faith. This should be our default position with God.

In the Bible, God goes out of his way to let us know that he’ll never leave us or betray us. I feel as a born-again believer that I can invest everything in God and not worry about him feigning affection or talking about me behind my back. I would never make such an investment in most humans, even born-again ones.

Other traits of young children that I believe Jesus was referring to is their ability to forgive and forget, to move on without looking back, to share what they have cheerfully, and to wear their heart on their sleeve. Children also love to learn what they love to learn, are constantly expanding their interests, easily accept guidance, nearly as easily accept correction, and enjoy helping out. These are all good traits for the Kingdom.

Conversion is a process that’s initiated by God and depends on him, but becoming like little children is something you can accomplish on your own. You can start by saying what you mean and meaning what you say and by letting your true feelings show rather than hiding them. You can start by being honest about everything and by not only saying that you’re willing to help out but actually being willing to help out wherever and whenever help is needed. These are baby steps on the way to becoming like little children again, but they’re a good place to start. The rest, if your heart is in the right place, will follow in good time.

And if people object to your Jesus-approved approach to life, they’re the problem, not you.

“Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.”                                                                                                

Matthew 18:3