How Do We Measure Maturity

By Andrea Merrell

So let us stop going over the basic teachings 

about Christ again and again.

Let us go on instead and become 

mature in our understanding. 

Hebrews 6:1 NLT 

We all expect certain behavior from children. Even teens. It comes, as they say, with the package. As children grow, they change. But what about adults?

There’s a thin, wavy line between natural and spiritual maturity. A lot of people get tripped-up with the word, because the Bible relates mature to perfect. But being perfect doesn’t necessarily mean without flaw or error. It also conveys being complete, sound, whole, pure, correct … in other words mature, especially in our understanding.

But how do we know when it happens. How do we measure?

Immature folks are full of excuses. They mostly operate in confusion and are generally disorganized. They have the best of intentions but tend to break promises, lose friends, and have a difficult time following through—especially in business and other important matters. (Hmmm … sounds a lot like childhood.)

On the flip side, pastor and author Bob Gass says it best:

Maturity is the ability to control your anger and settle your differences without violence or resentment. Maturity is patience; it is the willingness to pass up short-term pleasure for long-term gain. It’s the ability to “sweat it out” in spite of heavy opposition or discouraging setbacks. It’s the capacity to face unpleasantness and frustration without complaining or collapsing. Maturity is humility. It’s being big enough to say “I was wrong,” and when you are right, never needing to say “I told you so.” Maturity is the ability to make a decision and follow through with it instead of exploring endless possibilities and doing nothing about any of them. Maturity means dependability, keeping your word, and coming through in a crisis. Maturity is the art of being at peace with what you can’t change, having the courage to change what you can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

So, how did you measure-up according to those parameters? I don’t know about you, but I think I have a bit more maturing to do.

(Photo courtesy of Blogpiks.com and Stuart Miles.)

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How do you measure maturity? via @AndreaMerrell (Click to tweet.)

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