He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
- Matthew 18:2-4
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
- Matthew 19:14
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.
- 1 Corinthians 13:11
Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.
- 1 Corinthians 14:20
The New Boilerplate
My wife filled a small book with “Angel” on the cover. It was hidden with a box of crafting things. On 18 July 2025, I thought I had posted the last of these. But this little angel book held a prayer, followed by 71 quotes. So, the “with a little help” series is back in business for a while. And it will be fun for me. She did not attribute any of the quotes. The first quote was from James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the USA. The next one was disputed, with some thinking it originated with Teddy Roosevelt and others saying Fred Astaire. After the prayer, these might be on the lighter side.
Her quote
“The older you get, the more important it is not to act your age.”
- Ashleigh Brilliant
The Discussion
Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant (1933-2025) was a British and American Epigrammatist. His “column” was called “Pot-shots.” He drew a one panel cartoon and then added his “epigram,” never more than 17 words, usually much less. Here are some samples: “I like who I am and am puzzled to find that not everybody shares this opinion.” “My life so far has been a long series of things I wasn’t ready for.” “By using your intelligence, you can sometimes make your problems twice as complicated.” “Don’t tell me to relax – it’s only my tension that’s holding me together.” “You have a right to enjoy life – but only on your own time.”
When you are quoting someone who wrote thousands of one-liners over his lifetime, some stating he wrote over 10,000, you are qualified to claim you are not acting your age.
Frankly, I find it so much easier to look back at the past seventy years – longer than that and it’s kind of murky – but regardless, I laugh. Even at the bad times. Hey! I survived those bad times.
And in some cases, the advice of Ashleigh Brilliant only seems to work as you get old enough to appreciate how much fun it is to not act our age.
I wonder if my wife has a quote that says, “I wish people would quit telling me to act my age, I have never been this age before!” I think someone said something like that. But somehow the internet can’t find it.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory
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