Acting your age

 

When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me (1 Corinthians 13:11).

 

 

ACTING YOUR AGE

 

“The only difference between a man and a boy is the price of his toys.”

Most women I know smirk at that bumper-sticker truism. They usually stop when you mention “I Brake for Garage Sales” or “The one Who Dies with the Most Fabric Wins.”

It’s not fun acting like a grownup. Both men and women may be tempted to cling to childish ways of dealing with life. Toys become expensive hobbies. Childish quips become demeaning insults and harmful gossip. Games become competitive relationships at work, at home, or even at church.

It’s tough growing up.

Paul dealt with a group of particularly immature Christians at the church in Corinth. So childish were they that even their spiritual growth and ministry had become a source of pride, an occasion for playground one-upsmanship. They bragged. They put one another down. They were competitive about their positions in the body of Christ. They had become a bunch of peevish, selfish, clannish, clicky showoffs.

So Paul told them some terse advice: Grow up!

We do not become spiritual adults by growing older. We grow up in Christ by making conscious choices to put childish ways behind us.

 

—Lawrence W. Wilson

 

What “toys” do you need to put away?