--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: unless you change and become like little…" description: "\"“unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/237/todd-burpo-15375_children_unless-you-change-and-become-like-little_738945.jpg" --- # unless you change and become like little children, you… ![“unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”5 Whoever humbles himself like this child . . . What is childlike humility? It’s not the lack of intelligence…” quote by Todd Burpo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/237/todd-burpo-15375_children_unless-you-change-and-become-like-little_738945.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/237/todd-burpo-15375_children_unless-you-change-and-become-like-little_738945.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/237/todd-burpo-15375_children_unless-you-change-and-become-like-little_738945.jpg) > ““unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”5 Whoever humbles himself like this child . . . What is childlike humility? It’s not the lack of intelligence, but the lack of guile. The lack of an agenda. It’s that precious, fleeting time before we have accumulated enough pride or position to care what other people might think. The same un-self-conscious honesty that enables a three-year-old to splash joyfully in a rain puddle, or tumble laughing in the grass with a puppy, or point out loudly that you have a booger hanging out of your nose, is what is required to enter heaven. It is the opposite of ignorance—it is intellectual honesty: to be willing to accept reality and to call things what they are even when it is hard.”” [Todd Burpo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-burpo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True humility resembles a child’s pure, agenda‑free honesty, allowing entry into spiritual fulfillment. **In simple terms:** Childlike honesty, free of selfish motives, opens the path to spiritual peace. Key Takeaway Cultivate honest, unselfconscious presence. Themes humility spirituality innocence Mood contemplative inspirational Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - religious practice - parenting - education - conflict resolution - personal growth Key Concepts intellectual honesty self‑lessness faith Questions to Reflect On - What does childlike humility mean to you? - How can you practice honest self‑awareness? A Different Perspective Such humility can be mistaken for naiveté or lack of insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accept Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accept-reality/) [Childlike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childlike/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Humility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humility/) [Intellectual honesty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual-honesty/) [Kingdom of heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kingdom-of-heaven/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) ## Related quotes > [“What is childlike humility? It’s not the lack of intelligence, but the lack of guile. The lack of an agenda. It’s that precious, fleeting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-burpo/what-is-childlike-humility-it-s-not-the-lack-of-intelligence-but-the/) [Todd Burpo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-burpo/) > [What is childlike humility? It’s not the lack of intelligence, but the lack of guile. The lack of an agenda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-burpo/what-is-childlike-humility-it-s-not-the-lack-of-intelligence-but-the-2/) [Todd Burpo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-burpo/) > [“What is childlike humility? It's that precious, fleeting time before we have accumulated enough pride or position to care what other people might think.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-burpo-lynn-vincent/what-is-childlike-humility-it-s-that-precious-fleeting-time-before-we/) Todd Burpo; Lynn Vincent > [It is the opposite of ignorance—it is intellectual honesty: to be willing to accept reality and to call things what they are even when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-burpo/it-is-the-opposite-of-ignorance-it-is-intellectual-honesty-to-be/) [Todd Burpo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-burpo/) > [He's not a child but he's childlike, he's not a grown up, he's not a kid, maybe he sounds like an elf on helium,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-kenny/he-s-not-a-child-but-he-s-childlike-he-s-not-a-grown-up-he-s-not-a/) [Tom Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-kenny/) > [The more we become able to become a child again, to keep ourselves childlike, the more we can understand that because we love the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/the-more-we-become-able-to-become-a-child-again-to-keep-ourselves/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [You can fail in films because you don't have the talent, or you have too much humility, or you lack ferociousness. I'm a gangster.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cassavetes/you-can-fail-in-films-because-you-don-t-have-the-talent-or-you-have/) [John Cassavetes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cassavetes/) > [Deal honestly and objectively with yourself; intellectual honesty and personal courage are the hallmarks of great character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/deal-honestly-and-objectively-with-yourself-intellectual-honesty-and/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [The core of science is not a mathematical modeling--it is intellectual honesty. It is a willingness to have our certainties about the world constrained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-core-of-science-is-not-a-mathematical-modeling-it-is-intellectual/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“When it comes to the Big Questions in Life, the preponderance of evidence is the best advisor to inform our beliefs. The companion enterprise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-goedken/when-it-comes-to-the-big-questions-in-life-the-preponderance-of-2/) [Brian Goedken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-goedken/) > [“Recall what used to be the theme of poetry in the romantic era. In neat verses the poet lets us share his private, bourgeois…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/recall-what-used-to-be-the-theme-of-poetry-in-the-romantic-era-in/) [José Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [“But what if absolute consistency on any issue from the left or the right, religious or secular, is an indication of mediocre intelligence and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-what-if-absolute-consistency-on-any-issue-from-the-left-or-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I would like to raise them as I was. I would like for them to learn naturally, effortlessly, almost without knowing it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-b-carroll/i-would-like-to-raise-them-as-i-was-i-would-like-for-them-to-learn/) Sean B. Carroll > [Mathematics is persistent intellectual honesty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-aaron-richardson/mathematics-is-persistent-intellectual-honesty/) Moses Aaron Richardson > [“When it comes to the Big Questions in Life, the preponderance of evidence should be our best advisor to inform our Beliefs. The companion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-goedken/when-it-comes-to-the-big-questions-in-life-the-preponderance-of/) [Brian Goedken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-goedken/) ## More by Todd Burpo > [Being a pastor, of course, obviously people would say it (shouldn't) have done much but, boy, it sure gave me a peace I never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-burpo/being-a-pastor-of-course-obviously-people-would-say-it-shouldn-t-have/) [Todd Burpo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-burpo/) > [“I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” —JESUS OF NAZARETH”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-burpo/i-tell-you-the-truth-unless-you-change-and-become-like-little/) [Todd Burpo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-burpo/) > [“The Scripture says that as Jesus gave up his spirit, as he sagged there, lifeless on that Roman cross, God the Father turned his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-burpo/the-scripture-says-that-as-jesus-gave-up-his-spirit-as-he-sagged/) [Todd Burpo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-burpo/) > [“we learned the value of being vulnerable enough to let others be strong for us, to let others bless us. That, it turned out,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-burpo/we-learned-the-value-of-being-vulnerable-enough-to-let-others-be/) [Todd Burpo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-burpo/) > [“What is childlike humility? It’s not the lack of intelligence, but the lack of guile. The lack of an agenda. 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He already knows it anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-burpo/you-might-as-well-tell-god-what-you-think-he-already-knows-it-anyway/) [Todd Burpo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-burpo/) > [“We’d been given a gift and our job now was to unwrap it…and see what’s inside.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-burpo/we-d-been-given-a-gift-and-our-job-now-was-to-unwrap-it-and-see-what/) [Todd Burpo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-burpo/) > [“Now was not the time to quit and mourn. Now was the time for prayer and action.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-burpo/now-was-not-the-time-to-quit-and-mourn-now-was-the-time-for-prayer/) [Todd Burpo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-burpo/) > [The Bible's been attacked. What is truth? It's relative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-burpo/the-bible-s-been-attacked-what-is-truth-it-s-relative/) [Todd Burpo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-burpo/) > [Sometimes laughter is the only way to process tough times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-burpo/sometimes-laughter-is-the-only-way-to-process-tough-times/) [Todd Burpo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-burpo/) > [Jesus clearly viewed children as precious - and that if he loved kids enough to say that adults should be more like them, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-burpo/jesus-clearly-viewed-children-as-precious-and-that-if-he-loved-kids/) [Todd Burpo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-burpo/) > [“Yeah, she said she just can't wait for you and Daddy to get to heaven."...From that moment on, the wound from one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-burpo/yeah-she-said-she-just-can-t-wait-for-you-and-daddy-to-get-to-heaven/) [Todd Burpo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-burpo/) [Explore all 41 Todd Burpo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-burpo/) ## More Childlike quotes > [You've had a whole lot of experience, but everything is also radically new at each moment, and you have to bring a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/you-ve-had-a-whole-lot-of-experience-but-everything-is-also-radically/) [Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/) > [I’m cold,' Snowden said softly, 'I’m cold.' 'You’re going to be all right, kid,' Yossarian reassured him with a grin. 'You’re going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/i-m-cold-snowden-said-softly-i-m-cold-you-re-going-to-be-all-right/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [My mother spoke of Christ to my father, by her feminine and childlike virtues, and, after having borne his violence without a murmur or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/my-mother-spoke-of-christ-to-my-father-by-her-feminine-and-childlike/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Beautiful was this world, looking at it thus, without searching, thus simply, thus childlike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/beautiful-was-this-world-looking-at-it-thus-without-searching-thus/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-pharcellus-church/yes-virginia-there-is-a-santa-claus-he-exists-as-certainly-as-love/) [Francis Pharcellus Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-pharcellus-church/) > [“Ô, Wanderess, Wanderess When did you feel your most euphoric kiss? Was I the source of your greatest bliss?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-payne/wanderess-wanderess-when-did-you-feel-your-most-euphoric-kiss-was-i/) [Roman Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-payne/) > [Enter the writing process with a childlike sense of wonder and discovery. Let it surprise you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-ghigna/enter-the-writing-process-with-a-childlike-sense-of-wonder-and/) [Charles Ghigna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-ghigna/) > [A simple, childlike faith in a Divine Friend solves all the problems that come to us by land or sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/a-simple-childlike-faith-in-a-divine-friend-solves-all-the-problems/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [The naive is what is or appears to be natural, individual, or classical to the point of irony or to the point of continuous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/the-naive-is-what-is-or-appears-to-be-natural-individual-or-classical/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [I like crazy, childlike, candy bar-filled cakes with gooey caramel, chocolate-covered nuts, marshmallows, and the like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-ben-israel/i-like-crazy-childlike-candy-bar-filled-cakes-with-gooey-caramel/) [Ron Ben-Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-ben-israel/) > [“God sense little children to speak and act for him. In their simplicity and naivety they say and do things that we adults never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-steer/god-sense-little-children-to-speak-and-act-for-him-in-their/) Phil Steer > [It's fun playing two roles. The roles provide a wonderful range of emotions. Stuart is childlike and sensitive. Adam is ruthless, outrageous. He's flamboyant.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-canary/it-s-fun-playing-two-roles-the-roles-provide-a-wonderful-range-of/) [David Canary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-canary/) > [I think it is important to learn to distinguish between being childlike and being childish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-it-is-important-to-learn-to-distinguish-between-being/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The storm lashes us, out of the confusion of grey and yellow the hail of splinters whips forth the childlike cries of the wounded,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/the-storm-lashes-us-out-of-the-confusion-of-grey-and-yellow-the-hail/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [Things involved with a computer fill me with a childlike terror. Now, if it were a nice ogre or some such I'd be more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-giles/things-involved-with-a-computer-fill-me-with-a-childlike-terror-now/) [Rupert Giles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-giles/) [Browse all 267 Childlike quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childlike/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”5 Whoever humbles himself like this child . . . What is childlike humility? It’s not the lack of intelligence, but the lack of guile. The lack of an agenda. It’s that precious, fleeting time before we have accumulated enough pride or position to care what other people might think. 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