Psychology study offers insight on why Jesus calls us to be like children.
Throughout childhood and adolescent years, children spend hours role-playing their dream careers, observing the lives of their older siblings, and longing to grow up. As they venture through their suspended reality, waiting for “real life” to begin, so many of their sentences are prefaced with “When I grow up ...”
But in Scripture, Jesus presents a retrograde picture of age. Rather than calling children to become more like adults, he makes the sobering and puzzling claim that “anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it” (Mark 10:14–15). What about a child’s attitude is so precious to our Savior? There are certainly multiple facets to what Jesus meant when he called us to be like little children. But one implication could be that we should imitate the way that children learn by imitating. Perhaps a psychology study on children and chimps—also expert imitators—can give us more insight.
How chimps and children imitate
The study begins with a puzzle box and the knowledge that both chimps and children love sweet treats. In the first part of the experiment, researchers Victoria Horner and Andrew Whiten from Emory University present an opaque, black box to a chimpanzee and show it how to use a stick to retrieve a candy reward from the box. They first tap the top, slide the attached lever to reveal an opening, and tap inside the opening. Next, they come to the side of the box, open up a trap door, and retrieve the candy with the stick.
Now, it’s the chimpanzee's turn. Taking the stick, the chimp confidently mimics the experimenter. Tap, slide, tap. Come to the side of the box, open the lever, and retrieve the candy. The ...
from
http://feeds.christianitytoday.com/~r/christianitytoday/ctmag/~3/T2GBnaiZMAo/imitating-christ-like-little-children.html
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