In Matthew 18:3, Jesus says, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” This statement is as curious as it is severe. If we fail to understand what Jesus means, we lose access to Christ’s kingdom.
Jesus’ declaration is in response to His disciples’ question, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” To our Lord, greatness in His kingdom is found by becoming like a little child. Jesus clarifies in verse 4 that this means to humble yourself. A child is the lowest member of a family. He totally relies on his parents for food and protection and obeys their commands. A child is also innocent, blissfully unaware of and unstained by the grave evils of the world (cf. Ezek. 18:20).
During our adolescence, we eventually lose that innocence. At some point, each one of us learns right from wrong, and yet chooses to sin. We lose that humility. And every time we sin, it gets easier and easier to do. We get desensitized to it.
We have seen the effects of desensitization in this country over that last few decades. The more popular culture has made its way into the home, the more we have seen the acceptance of sin. TV sitcoms, violence in the news, internet pornography, and social media have caused so many to become numb to the evils of the world and even embrace them. The simple fact is the more we are exposed to sin, the more likely we are to get used to it.
Satan is trying with all his might to make us accept sin, but we can resist him. The Bible tells us to “…hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thess. 5:21-22). If Jesus told us that we must become like little children, then it must be possible. We can resist evil. We can resist the devil (Jas. 4:7). But, how do we do that?
We must control what gets into our hearts. Jesus says, “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Matt. 15:18-19). If we want to stop the desensitization, then we must cut off its influence. If we fill our minds with evil videos, articles, music, etc., they eventually will come out in our behavior. As Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”
Let’s stop being desensitized to sin and become like little children again. We must abhor what is evil and love what it good (Rom. 12:9). We must be willing to cut off anything in our lives that leads us from godliness (cf. Matt. 18:8-9).