"When our Lord says, we must be converted and become as little children, I suppose he means also, that we must be sensible of our weakness, comparatively speaking, as a little child"
About this Quote
Whitefield turns a famous, sentimental line into a hard-edged spiritual diagnostic. “Become as little children” is often rinsed into a vague mood of innocence; Whitefield pins it to something less cozy: weakness. The key move is “I suppose,” a modest phrase that’s doing aggressive work. He’s not unsure; he’s modeling the very posture he prescribes, performing humility even as he narrows the meaning of Christ’s command into a single, bracing demand for self-abasement.
The intent is pastoral but also strategic. Whitefield, the thunderous engine of the Great Awakening, preached to crowds primed for moral self-confidence: churchgoers who knew the rules, respected themselves, and could mistake good behavior for salvation. By reframing childlikeness as “sensible of our weakness,” he aims at the proud nerve. Conversion, in his telling, isn’t an upgrade in spiritual sophistication; it’s a collapse of the adult ego’s myth of competence.
The subtext is a critique of Enlightenment-era self-possession and respectable religion. “Comparatively speaking” matters: it’s not that adults literally become childish, but that in the face of divine authority, every adult virtue (reason, achievement, status) is revealed as brittle. Whitefield’s theology needs that brittleness. If you feel strong, you negotiate with God; if you feel small, you surrender.
Contextually, this is revival rhetoric built for impact: it turns a familiar biblical image into a psychological posture that can be felt immediately in the body. The child here isn’t cute. The child is dependent, exposed, and finally honest about it.
The intent is pastoral but also strategic. Whitefield, the thunderous engine of the Great Awakening, preached to crowds primed for moral self-confidence: churchgoers who knew the rules, respected themselves, and could mistake good behavior for salvation. By reframing childlikeness as “sensible of our weakness,” he aims at the proud nerve. Conversion, in his telling, isn’t an upgrade in spiritual sophistication; it’s a collapse of the adult ego’s myth of competence.
The subtext is a critique of Enlightenment-era self-possession and respectable religion. “Comparatively speaking” matters: it’s not that adults literally become childish, but that in the face of divine authority, every adult virtue (reason, achievement, status) is revealed as brittle. Whitefield’s theology needs that brittleness. If you feel strong, you negotiate with God; if you feel small, you surrender.
Contextually, this is revival rhetoric built for impact: it turns a familiar biblical image into a psychological posture that can be felt immediately in the body. The child here isn’t cute. The child is dependent, exposed, and finally honest about it.
Quote Details
| Topic | Humility |
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