What is Maturity Anyway?

In our house we have learned (many times the hard way) that privileges do not come with age, they come with maturity.

Since when did passing time become a standard by which we are ready for things in life?  I don’t care how much time passes there are many things I will never be equipped for simply because more days are in my rearview.  

Maturity, on the other hand, is a much better predictor of success, although never fool proof.  But it does require truly being a part of a child or young adult’s life to know them, their experiences and their perspectives to assess their maturity. 

When you google “Maturity” you get:

• “The state, fact, or period of being mature”- well, that is not helpful at all!
• “Fully developed physically; full-grown”- this sounds like a physical process, but life is much more of a mental, spiritual and emotional experience.
• “Having reached the most advanced stage in a process”- do we ever really reach the most advanced stage in a process as complex as maturity? There is always more room for learning and growth. ALWAYS!

If you really want to dive into maturity the first thing to realize is that maturity has to be an outcome before it can be an input.  OK… What does THAT mean?

It means, when we learn to discern and discipline our thoughts and decisions…

Philippians 4:8- "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

To guard our hearts, which every action ultimately comes from…

Proverbs 4:23- "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."

The result is the fruit of the spirit…

Galatians 5:22-23- "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

Just as the process is seed- sprout- shoot- growth- pruning- delivering nutrients to the right places so a flower then (and only then) can give rise to a fruit that begins to develop, mature further, ripen and get to a place where it is ready for the world…  we do too.  (Notice that time is only one factor in all of this.  There is a lot of work that goes into producing fruit).

There is a difference between maturING and having maturity or being mature and we need to realize that each of our kids, students and athletes are all on their own maturing journey and we are here as their leaders to foster, nurture and guide that while we point them to the ultimate teacher, Jesus. 

Over the next few weeks we are going to sink into each of these fruit and talk about

• what they mean,
• how to use them in your own leadership journey,
• how to help develop them in our children, students and youth

            …we can’t just rely on (or blame) time and DNA here friends.

• and how to help them turn around and practice them productively.

Buckle up and invite your friends and fellow leaders into this discussion because we are going to get real, raw and truth filled as we learn how to navigate maturity and set our youth up for real success!