Let us all put away childish things
"When I was a child, I spake as a child.
I understood as a child. I thought as a child.
But when I became a man, I put away childish things."
This verse, supposedly contained in a letter from Paul to the school at Corinth, is not talking about the toys and dolls of childhood, but is referring to the world of childish emotions - of taunts, threats, belligerence and revenge, of spite, malice and jealousy, the world of destruction, cruelty and knee jerk reaction, the world of gossip, little white lies, fibs, and whoppers that children think will make then seem smart or strong, brave or untouchable. These emotions are the toys of the vindictive, the insecure, the smug, and the thoughtless. They are also the toys of those who are adult in chronological years, but who, in reality, are only overgrown, over indulged brats incapable of introspection and thought; adults who have chosen not to grow up and thus, will never be wise.
There is also an old adage that says that the only difference between men and boys is the cost of their toys. The spit ball or sling shot morphs into a flamer thrower or rocket launcher. The Tonka truck becomes a HumVee, with or without armor. The folded paper airplane, the kite soaring in spring wind, the hand made model bi-plane of the childish adult turns into the unmanned drone, the heavily armed F-17, the aviation fuel filled airliner, the bunker buster bomb, the dream of satellite controlled nuclear arsenals that could intimidate or utterly disintegrate the world on a child's whim, because what's the sense of having the power without the gloating bully's willingness to use it without regard to the results.
There are also the games children play to prove their physical and mental prowess, to compete boldly, to be victorious, to win at all costs without an iota of perception about what winning means or responsibilities it holds. Childish minds are unable to see a winning score as only numbers when their dreams and fantasies tell them it is so much more - a visible stamp of superiority, an elation for momentarily being the 'best,' a vindication for any past failures, real or not, a loud, braying chortle to have lauded '"it" over a person or group who has now been proven weaker, less talented, unimportant, undeserving of recognition. Victory, winning, might, superiority - buzzwords for emotional stagnation and basic human fear.
How did humanity manage to slither out of the primordial ooze, stand upright and walk forward to recognize the blossoming tree of life only to warp its branches into a malformed parody of itself, it's buds and flowers mocking us with the faces of those we have mercilessly maimed and killed in an unfettered child's game of Blindman's Bluff? With childish eyes, we survey our domain, seeing only the multitude of others who are different in some meaningless way, who are darker or lighter, who speak with a lisp or in a different rhythm, who walk with a limp or who can't walk at all, who are too tall or too short or too fat or too lean, who don't play our favorite games or who don't believe our braggadocio, who don't have our toys, or who ignore us, or don't worship our God or any god at all. And we fear them. We get angry. We try to force them to do what we want. We boss them around. We tell them our daddy is mightier than theirs. Our mother is prettier than theirs. We're smarter than they are...and stronger...and meaner...and more than willing to prove it with a no-holds barred fight.
We are enamored of our childish ways. We're selfish and don't want to change, we don't want to share, don't want to think we might be wrong, don't want to find new ways of doing things or different ways of thinking.
We will be perpetual children until we confront our childish ways. We will be our own worst enemy and our own victims until we grow up and look within ourselves, our society, our judgments, our habits. Choices are free but they do not guarantee freedom anymore than steroid enhanced muscles guarantees a long, strong life.
"When I was a child, I spake as a child.
I understood as a child. I thought as a child.
But when I became a man, I put away childish things."
This verse, supposedly contained in a letter from Paul to the school at Corinth, is not talking about the toys and dolls of childhood, but is referring to the world of childish emotions - of taunts, threats, belligerence and revenge, of spite, malice and jealousy, the world of destruction, cruelty and knee jerk reaction, the world of gossip, little white lies, fibs, and whoppers that children think will make then seem smart or strong, brave or untouchable. These emotions are the toys of the vindictive, the insecure, the smug, and the thoughtless. They are also the toys of those who are adult in chronological years, but who, in reality, are only overgrown, over indulged brats incapable of introspection and thought; adults who have chosen not to grow up and thus, will never be wise.
There is also an old adage that says that the only difference between men and boys is the cost of their toys. The spit ball or sling shot morphs into a flamer thrower or rocket launcher. The Tonka truck becomes a HumVee, with or without armor. The folded paper airplane, the kite soaring in spring wind, the hand made model bi-plane of the childish adult turns into the unmanned drone, the heavily armed F-17, the aviation fuel filled airliner, the bunker buster bomb, the dream of satellite controlled nuclear arsenals that could intimidate or utterly disintegrate the world on a child's whim, because what's the sense of having the power without the gloating bully's willingness to use it without regard to the results.
There are also the games children play to prove their physical and mental prowess, to compete boldly, to be victorious, to win at all costs without an iota of perception about what winning means or responsibilities it holds. Childish minds are unable to see a winning score as only numbers when their dreams and fantasies tell them it is so much more - a visible stamp of superiority, an elation for momentarily being the 'best,' a vindication for any past failures, real or not, a loud, braying chortle to have lauded '"it" over a person or group who has now been proven weaker, less talented, unimportant, undeserving of recognition. Victory, winning, might, superiority - buzzwords for emotional stagnation and basic human fear.
How did humanity manage to slither out of the primordial ooze, stand upright and walk forward to recognize the blossoming tree of life only to warp its branches into a malformed parody of itself, it's buds and flowers mocking us with the faces of those we have mercilessly maimed and killed in an unfettered child's game of Blindman's Bluff? With childish eyes, we survey our domain, seeing only the multitude of others who are different in some meaningless way, who are darker or lighter, who speak with a lisp or in a different rhythm, who walk with a limp or who can't walk at all, who are too tall or too short or too fat or too lean, who don't play our favorite games or who don't believe our braggadocio, who don't have our toys, or who ignore us, or don't worship our God or any god at all. And we fear them. We get angry. We try to force them to do what we want. We boss them around. We tell them our daddy is mightier than theirs. Our mother is prettier than theirs. We're smarter than they are...and stronger...and meaner...and more than willing to prove it with a no-holds barred fight.
We are enamored of our childish ways. We're selfish and don't want to change, we don't want to share, don't want to think we might be wrong, don't want to find new ways of doing things or different ways of thinking.
We will be perpetual children until we confront our childish ways. We will be our own worst enemy and our own victims until we grow up and look within ourselves, our society, our judgments, our habits. Choices are free but they do not guarantee freedom anymore than steroid enhanced muscles guarantees a long, strong life.
posted by kaz at 5:41 PM
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