(Matthew 21:16 KJV) And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?
Most people have heard someone mumble, “Out of the mouths of babes...” They understand it means that children can often say things that reflect reality. We see this in the nursery story about the King’s New Clothes. Only the child was willing to say that the king was naked.
This comes from a conversation Jesus had with the Pharisees. Some children were praising Jesus in the temple and the Pharisees were offended. Part of their problem was that Jesus was looking good and doing good. Part of their problem was that He was being praised. Part of it was that the children were being noisy in church.
I see this kind of thing as school all the time. We frequently have the school officials announce something that has us looking at each other and scratching our heads. One of the kids will point out how foolish it is. I ask them how old they are and then ask them how someone so young could see the truth when the adults don’t. Again they just shake their heads.
Sometimes the statements of the children are based on the ignorance of inexperience. A few days ago we were discussing the Constitution and defining words. We were talking about bankruptcy. The kids gave their usual statements about just printing more money. At one point one of the kids said, how come we just don’t give people what they need and not charge. When I asked where the goods would come from he suggested that everyone would do what they could. Does this sound familiar? Let me remind you of an immortal quote which I shall address some other time, “From each according to his ability. To each according to his need.” My little, ignorant children came up with one of the great statements of Communism. So much for great thinkers.
Out of the mouths of babes comes wisdom and foolishness. It is up to the mature to decide whether this quote is a cliche or a proverb.
Are you up to the challenge?
homo unius libri
Were it not atheistic, communism would sound like a very Christian form of government. Unfortunately, it doesn't take human nature (sin) into account, so it's doomed to the same failure that all other utopian societies have suffered.
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head. At the core of the dispute is the nature of man. The disaster is coming because even the church seems to have forgotten about sin.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the input.
Grace and peace.