“Maturity will always be in high demand. Societies need good citizens. Nations clamor for noble leaders. Businesses seek out responsible employees. Parents long for prudent children.”
That’s the beginning of a short, great article with all kinds of relevance for those of you in the Young Adults fellowship. It’s called “6 Ways to Avoid Delayed Adulthood.”
The author writes: “While maturity isn’t simple, it’s also not complicated. Maturity follows this basic path: desire, commitment, faithfulness, humility, courage, and resilience.”
I agree with this basic assessment. So much of our modern culture is built to prevent maturity–as if we should literally play games and chase our dreams forever–even though, as noted above, what society actually needs is maturity. But even more importantly, the Bible commends, and commands, maturity. It’s God’s design that those who know Him should be maturing, so that early in life they reach the status of “full-grown” in all the strength, steadfastness, productivity, and wisdom that status refers to.
So articles like these, when they are written to explore and apply Biblical wisdom, are helpful. Here, then, are 6 ways we can get on with life:
1. Wake Up: Desire. (“The first step toward maturity is wanting it. This virtue—basic desire—sits at the core of who we are and what we become.”)
2. Sign Up: Commitment. (“…desire alone is not enough. Without a concrete set of roles and commitments, even a healthy desire for maturity can become just a compost pile of good intentions”)
3. Show Up: Faithfulness. (“Signing up is one thing. Showing up is another. There are too many young people who want to move up but don’t want to show up…The majority of maturity is faithfulness.”)
4. Shut Up: Humility. (“You also have to learn to shut up. As we move through adolescence into young adulthood, we’re sometimes tempted to think and act like we know far more than we do.”)
5. Step Up: Courage. (“Closing our mouths and opening our ears is a vital discipline. But we should develop it out of humility rather than fear, patience rather than indifference.”)
6. Get Up: Resilience. (“If you want to grow, you’ll have to face the challenges that growth entails.”)
It really is worth it to click over and read the whole thing. Hope you enjoy.