Maturity, What Comes To Mind?

I have this little book that I've really enjoyed since my parents bought it for me, it's called "God's Little Devotional Book for Teens". In it is a section about maturity and I wanted to share it with you because I think it's not to hard to see that the average teen today is. . . not really mature.



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"Maturity doesn't come with age; it comes with acceptance of responsibility."- Ed Cole

A number of definitions of maturity have been offered by experts , but these are perhaps among the best understood by the average person:

Maturity is when you not only want to have a puppy to call your own, but when you remember on your own to give it food and water every day.

Maturity is when you not only know how to dress yourself , but remember to put your dirty clothes in the laundry hamper after you've taken them off.

Maturity is when you not only are capable of using a telephone to call a friend, but when you know how to keep you calls short so others can have access to the phone.

Maturity is when you not only are old enough to stay at home alone, but when you can be trusted to stay at home and even have friends over.

Maturity is when you are not only old enough to drive the car by yourself, but you pay for the gasoline you use.

Maturity is when you are not only old enough to stay up late, but wise enough to go to bed early. (I especially liked this one!)

The more you learn to accept responsibility for your life, the more you will grow in maturity. With greater responsibility and maturity comes greater privileges.

"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." -1 Cor. 13:11

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I read once where someone was teaching on this verse that notice Paul doesn't say, 'when I became a teen I looked like a man, sounded like a man, talked like a man but, when I became a teen I still acted like a child and wanted childish things'! No, I think Paul knew what it meant to mature.

Let's follow what not our peers, but what Paul, Jesus, and other godly people we have in our lives define as maturity!