Growing up is hard to do!

I Corinthians 13: When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. But when I became an adult,I set aside childish ways.

Today it seems kids want to grow up faster than their mind, body will and emotions are ready.  I have to admit, it’s quite frightening to meet a teen of about 13 and she looks like she’s 20.  Society demands instant growth and the sad commentary is that kids don’t really have the chance to be kids for very long.  Our problem with child pornography is skyrocketing and your kids are often just one step away from a sexual predator.  What do we do in ever increasing nightmare?  So here’s the issue; we have kids wanting to grow up too fast and adults trying not to grow up!

When I was a kid I enjoyed being a kid.  I didn’t have any thoughts of what it would be like being an adult or having adult roles because I was content to just be a kid.  Of course I’m not ignorant of the fact that yes, times have drastically changed.  We were not exposed to such things because it either didn’t exist or I was completely sheltered from the evils around me.  In either case, I’m sure glad I had a wonderful childhood. 

If we look at this spiritually though, Paul is saying in the scripture, that when he was a child, he was a child, but when he became a man, he took responsibility of that role.  It is sad that we have many people sitting in pews that have been a Christian for a long time but they never seem to grow up.  They are still offended at little things that don’t amount to anything.  They refuse to take ownership of the scriptures themselves.  They never want to help with anything in the church, but are the first to complain that it wasn’t done correctly.   These are some very real “red flags” that growth has not yet taken root.  As we grow in our relationship with the Lord, we change.  We become mature, more grounded and stable. 

Even though that teen is trying hard to be older than they are, they will not be 20 years old until they become 20.  So on the other hand the Christian cannot refuse to grow.  We are responsible for our growth to a certain extent.  We are to find a place where we can be fed the truth of God’s Word, and then we must apply and walk in those truths to become more mature. 

There is accountability that must be applied to our lives if we ever want to make a difference with our Christianity.  Even though growing up is hard to do, we have to grow or we will die!!  This is a New Year, so start growing!!!!

Dr.  Shelia Isom

High Voltage Devotional

Experiencing Revival

For more from Dr. Sheila Isom and Experiencing Revival, please visit www.drsisom.org