1 Corinthians 14:20
“Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.”
This verse is so pointed and direct that it pierces the very soul of the modern idea of youth: you live however you want, experiment, be knowledgeable only in what’s fun and immediately benefits you, and basically blow off life until you’re thrown into it. This verse leaves no room for such ideology. It calls us to be mature in our thinking, to act like men, men of God. And not only does it charge us to be mature in our thinking, but to be infants in evil. But what does it really mean to be an infant in evil?
Infants have just started to learn about things and are far from mastering their skills. In the same way, we should be like an infant in regards to evil; inexperienced, and far from a skilled, seasoned sinner. We are to maintain our purity like we would maintain that of an young child sitting by our side.
However, there’s just one small problem; none of us can or will ever live up to this command. That’s right, only one person could fulfill such a high call to purity; Christ. But just because we can’t fully complete this charge doesn’t mean we don’t pour our heart into trying. As people who love our God, we should love doing what pleases Him, and pursuing this level of purity, though we constantly fail, pleases Him greatly.
“Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.”
This verse is so pointed and direct that it pierces the very soul of the modern idea of youth: you live however you want, experiment, be knowledgeable only in what’s fun and immediately benefits you, and basically blow off life until you’re thrown into it. This verse leaves no room for such ideology. It calls us to be mature in our thinking, to act like men, men of God. And not only does it charge us to be mature in our thinking, but to be infants in evil. But what does it really mean to be an infant in evil?
Infants have just started to learn about things and are far from mastering their skills. In the same way, we should be like an infant in regards to evil; inexperienced, and far from a skilled, seasoned sinner. We are to maintain our purity like we would maintain that of an young child sitting by our side.
However, there’s just one small problem; none of us can or will ever live up to this command. That’s right, only one person could fulfill such a high call to purity; Christ. But just because we can’t fully complete this charge doesn’t mean we don’t pour our heart into trying. As people who love our God, we should love doing what pleases Him, and pursuing this level of purity, though we constantly fail, pleases Him greatly.