As this post coincides with International Women’s Day, it got me thinking about maturity. Legally, I became an adult at 18. Technically that also means I transitioned from a child to a woman, and henceforth IWD has been applicable to me. Maturity isn’t just about age though…  It’s crazy to think that I was once so anxious to grow up!



“When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a woman, I put away childish things.” (1 Corinthians 13:11)

Childish Things

Given that childhood covers a broad timespan (0-17), there are a variety of behaviours that take place during those ages which if carried into adulthood would be deemed ‘childish.’  Below are some which came to mind when I reflected on the latter portion of my childhood:

  • Avoidance – I buried my head in the sand about a whole heap of important things.
  • Close mindedness – how dare you insinuate that I’m wrong, or that you could be right?!
  • Holding grudges – why bother restoring relationships when I could simply keep a tally of all of the times you’ve wronged me?
  • Impatience – rushing into major decisions without thinking of the consequences was a whole vibe.
  • Minimal apologies – words are overrated. You can see I’m sorry, right?
  • Mood swings – controlling my emotions was absolutely not a thing. I could tell you I was ‘fine’ with a face like thunder.
  • People-pleasing – *robot voice* must. make. sure. I. am. liked. by. all.
  • Silent treatment – because you’re just not worth talking to anymore. End of story.
  • Taking offence – I was a pro at misreading the lines… never mind reading between them.

I definitely wasn’t like this all of the time. Thankfully. But refusing to let go of some of the above practices has certainly made adulthood more difficult.

‘Adulting’ successfully is contingent on the elimination of childish behaviours.



Womanhood

Becoming a legal adult is simply that: legal adulthood; nothing more, nothing less. It would be wrong to assume that turning 18 magically changes your character. The behaviours described in the section above (and many others) are indisputably childish since they aren’t things a ‘real adult’ would/should engage in. Therefore, if you’re 18+ and you expect to be treated as a woman, then you can’t continue to cultivate childish characteristics.

From a biblical perspective, I love that the Bible has scriptures which challenge each of my personal issues (directly or indirectly). The fact of the matter is that God wants growth. Scratch that. God expects growth.

Maturity requires you to embrace character growth.

Luke 2:52 mentions three important points:

  1. Jesus grew in wisdom
  2. Jesus grew in favour with God
  3. Jesus grew in favour with man

These points highlight Jesus’ maturity because they are impossible for someone that still operates as a child to accomplish. Firstly, wisdom itself will tell you that childish behaviour is wrong; therefore, the two cannot coexist. Secondly, Jesus would not be in God’s favour if His behaviour lacked the necessary respect for the Creator or His creation. Lastly, an adult-sized child would evoke my fury, not favour (I’m sure Jesus’ contemporaries would share my sentiments). His character growth didn’t occur accidentally; it was the product of a close relationship with God.  Do you care what God thinks of you? An appraisal such as this is only given to women who are willing to put away their childish things.



So…

As sad as it is: your childhood is over. Remember that the Bible tells you how to be a woman, so you needn’t be a ‘grown child.’  Immaturity will undoubtedly cost you your salvation; therefore, maturity requires the utmost intentionality.

Side note – I haven’t forgotten that in Matthew 18:2-4 Jesus advocates being like a child to enter heaven; however, I don’t think that negates what I was trying to explain in this post. In essence, one can be ‘like a child’ without being childish i.e. drawing on the good without perpetuating the bad.

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