The Greatest in the Kingdom

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 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. Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea (Matt 18:1-6).

Most of us are aware of this passage. Most of us think it's ... cool. You know ... Jesus loves the little children ... that sort of thing. Everyone likes that.

But ... did you hear what Jesus said? "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea." Now, think about it. And be honest. How often do we cause one of these little ones to sin? I'm afraid it's much more common than we care to think about.

What do we, as loving parents, model for our children? Do we model godliness or do we present to them sinful lives as "good"? Or what do we defend as parents? It's one thing, you see, to err and another thing entirely to defend that error. No parent is perfect. We all make mistakes. But do we defend them? It's one thing when we do the wrong thing and then apologize, for instance, but when we don't identify the wrong we do as wrong, we tell our kids, "What I did was right." And that is an excellent way to cause them to sin.

I know of people who identify themselves as Christians who live sexual immorality in front of their kids as if it's just fine. I know youth pastors who go along with the kids in their care when they push against their parents' authority as if it's just fine. I know Christians who casually and coolly live sinful lives in front of their children as if it's just fine. And I have to check myself because that statement from Christ is no small thing: "It would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea." Am I guilty of that? I sure don't want to be.

We all interact with children to some degree or another. Some of us do so intensely because, you know, they live in our houses or they are our primary ministry or some such. The other extreme are those who simply see them in passing. Are you aware of what you are saying to these kids in your choices and behavior? I'm not talking about the mistakes we all make and recognize as mistakes. Those are easier to work on. I mean, we're all in agreement there. I'm talking about the things that we approve and defend. "So I lost my temper and yelled at him. He deserved it. That ought to teach him." Teach him what? That anger is perfectly okay? "It's okay to play video poker in front of my kids because I'm not doing any serious gambling." Is it? "I should be allowed to live my life the way I want." Should you? "It's not their business if I have a little too much to drink on a Saturday night to relax. I'm not breaking any laws. Who is it hurting?" Really? "I just want them to be comfortable around me, so I let them do things when they're with me that their parents won't. It's not hurting anything." Is that true? I don't know about you, but I want to be a Christian who is a follower of Christ (duh!). I think perhaps I should really consider what Jesus said about my effect on children. What about you?