Out of the Mouths of Babes

article by REV. Roy Bryan Moore

A first-grade teacher gathered some well-known sayings for her students. Such as: “Better to be safe than sorry.” “Strike while the iron is hot.” “No news is good news.” “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” “If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas.” “Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone.” As well as the saying, “Children should be seen and not heard.” However, she just gave the children the beginning of the sentences. She asked them to finish the sayings, as in, to fill in the blanks. Here are some of their responses. 

“Better to be safe than … to punch a 5th Grader.” “Strike while the … bug is close.” “No news is … impossible.” “You can’t teach an old dog new … math.” “If you lie down with dogs, you will … stink in the morning.” “Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and … you have to blow your nose.” Then finally, “Children should be seen and not … spanked or grounded.” Without a doubt, children sometimes look at the world differently than adults. But their insights may have a certain twist that helps us to see with a new perspective. As the late Art Linkletter claimed, “Children say the darndest things.” Then when they do, we may respond with the adage, “Out of the mouths of babes.”

Did you know that popular saying comes from Psalm 8:2? There we read, “Out of the mouths of babes, children and youth will often come spiritual wisdom, which will puzzle the enemies of God to the point of silencing their criticism.” (paraphrased) To be clear, sometimes what pops out of the mouths of young people brings to life certain lessons we all need to learn. 

For example, one night a little boy was saying his bedtime prayers with his mother. He was thanking God for all the people that he loved. At the end of his prayer his mom gently whispered that he had left out a prayer of thanksgiving for his sister. He replied, “Oh, yeah! We are supposed to love our enemies, too!” That’s a humorous way of reminding us to follow a major teaching of Jesus, a lesson we all need to learn. 

Again, let me illustrate how the words that flow from the mouths of the young may guide us. Once there was a little girl that received a bad cut on her eyelid. Her father took her to a doctor. The physician felt it may be best if he did not use a local anesthetic to numb the pain of a needle. The doctor asked her if she could remain completely still as he used a needle to sew the cut on her eyelid back together. She thought for a moment and answered, “I think I can, if my daddy will hold me while you do it.” 

So, the father sat her down in his lap and held her head close to his shoulder. The doctor quickly sutured the eyelid back together, as the young child remained completely still. She simply held on tightly to her father, as he held on tightly to his little one. Her words and her experience illustrate for us a vital spiritual truth.

There are times in life that we need to hold on tightly to our Heavenly Father, as our Heavenly Father holds on tightly to us. For instance, an illness of some kind, financial strain, broken relationships, the loss of a loved one, or some other stress upon our soul may deeply pain our lives. At the risk of being simplistic, when the pains of life come your way, say to yourself something like, “I believe I can get through this. For as I hold onto my Lord and Savior, I know he will be holding onto me.” Don’t be surprised if one day the pain comes to an end, and the necessary healing begins. Until then, hold tight.