When a writing deadline draws nigh and the old noggin is worn slap out from holiday hoopla, I know it’s time to dip into my file of weird news stories for inspiration.
If nothing else, reading these clippings always elicits a nice shot of dopamine, a feel-good neurotransmitter that’s triggered when we laugh.
One of the articles in my file was about a 5-year-old boy in Salt Lake City who snuck out of his house and took the family car for a spin. His parents were at work and the boy’s sister, who was babysitting, was snoozing in another room. I’ll bet big sis incurred more than a little parental wrath when all this was over.
Perched on the very edge of the seat so he could reach the pedals, this little kid drove through his neighborhood and out onto a Utah highway. I don’t know how on earth he could see over the steering wheel. I’d say he was either freakishly tall for his age or he had a guardian angel riding shotgun (and no doubt sweating profusely).
A state trooper spotted the pint-sized driver and pulled him over. How did the boy even know he was supposed to pull over? Beats me. Another mystery that wasn’t explained in the article.
The best part is that no one got hurt … except possibly the negligent big sister. The next best part is the kid’s reason for taking the car: he said he was going to California to buy a Lamborghini with the $3 he had in his wallet.
Gotta applaud his moxie, but his logic? Not so much. What a perfect illustration of why the Apostle Paul wrote, “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things” (1 Corinthians 13:11).
Experts on all things brainy seem to believe our gray matter isn’t fully developed until we’re in our mid-20s, on average. I guess my poor husband was married to me for five years before my brain could potentially fire on all cylinders. (Whether it actually has or not is certainly debatable).
Now for the confusing part. Jesus 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” (Matthew 18:3-4).
So, we’re supposed to become like children but put away childish things? Hmmm. Obviously, there’s a big difference between being childish and being childlike.
Look up “childish” and you’ll find synonyms and definitions like foolish, immature, naïve, babyish, frivolous, and lacking emotional restraint, seriousness or good sense.
Being childlike is something quite different: guileless, trusting, unfeigned, natural, sweet, innocent, and unspoiled.
Childish Christians are stubborn, petty, divisive, impulsive, unwise, uncommitted and selfish. Childlike Christians, on the other hand, believe God, trust God, and demonstrate a genuine, unjaded care for others.
As a new year begins, I’m resolving to simplify my relationship with God by intentionally cultivating a more childlike faith.
Paul addressed this in his second letter to the Corinthian believers, writing, “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3).
Simply and purely devoted to Christ. In this complicated world, that sure sounds refreshing to me.
As I close, hearkening back to the story I began with, I’ll leave you with this sage bit of advice: If you find a plane with the keys in it and don’t have your pilot’s license, don’t take that plane for a spin. Even if you can reach the pedals and have $3 in your wallet.