Brethren, be not children In understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children but in understanding be men. 1 Corinthians 14:20. Cfr. Ephesians 4:14. I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil. Romans 16:19.
St. Paul here explains to us the mind of Christ. He shows us that Christ does not desire to have children with a simplicity akin to stupidity, but He desires hearts that are of noble simplicity, honest souls that are without deceit, duplicity or hypocrisy. The Lord does not desire children of darkness, craftiness or wickedness, but children of light, truth and righteousness. The evil in the world should be as foreign to us as it is to the smallest child. On the other hand, we should know and understand that which is good better than the oldest and most experienced worldlings and worldly wise, as David says, ’Thy commandments have made me wiser than mine enemies. I have more understanding than all my teachers. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep Thy precepts" (Psalms 119:98-100). When, therefore, our Lord and St. Paul bid us become like children, they do not refer to childishness, nor the ignorance of a child’s understanding, but the simplicity of the child and the purity of the child-like mind. It also becomes evident that true simplicity and child-likeness are the seat of true wisdom. The purer the mind, the clearer the understanding; the more corrupt the heart, the more blind and muddled the head. Cleanse your heart from all the wickedness, and you kindle the light in your understanding. But if you permit wickedness in your heart, it will, extinguish all light in your head.
Thou strong Defence, Thou holy Light,
Teach us to know our God aright.
And call Him Father from the heart:
The Word of life and truth impart.