Have You Grown up Yet?
At what age is a person “grown up?” 18? 21? 30? 40? If you’re a teenager, you are, no doubt, absolutely convinced that when you reach 18 you will have finally “grown up.” After all, you are “of age.” Even the government recognizes that. You can vote!
Those in their early twenties look back to when they were 18 and are amazed at how much they have grown in a few short years. The same thing could be said of those who reached the milestones of 30, 40, or 50. At what age should we consider ourselves “grown up?” Is it, “When you do not unscrew your Oreos anymore?”
Age is not the issue. We have all known eighteen year olds who were mature beyond their years and 80-year-olds who were immature. Recently, Antonio Villaraigosa, the mayor of Los Angeles, announced that he and his wife were getting a divorce. Some felt that the way Villaraigosa handled the press conference, called to announce his divorce, was childish. Steve Lopez, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, wrote an article entitled “Mr. Mayor: Shut up, grow up, slowdown” (Los Angeles Times, June 14, 2007). Villaraigosa is 54 years old! Imagine telling a 54-year-old to shut up and grow up. Come to think of it, maybe there are a number of “older people” who need that message.
Perhaps, it takes longer to grow up than we think. In the Old Testament, a priest had to be thirty years old before he could serve in the Tabernacle (Num. 4:3, 23, 30, 35, 47). Jesus was about thirty before He began His ministry (Lk. 3:23). The Old Testament does not say how old Moses was when he first attempted to deliver the Israelites from bondage. Stephen says he was forty (Acts 7:23). What is interesting about that is the way the Old Testament describes the same event. It says “Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown” (Ex. 2:11). Does that imply that Moses was not “grown up” until he was forty? In his commentary on the book of Acts, Howard Marshall says, “‘Forty’ was the age at which a person had ‘grown up’ (Ex. 2:11).
Reaching a certain age is not the criteria for being “grown up.” Neither is it graduating from college, having children, being a mayor, or being President of the United States. Young people can make “grown-up” decisions and older people can make foolish decisions. Experience is not the measure of having arrived. Not even suffering will do the trick. As Anne Morrow Lindbergh says, “I do not believe that suffering teaches. If suffering alone taught, all the world would be wise, since everyone sufferers. To suffering must be added mourning, understanding, patience, love, openness, and the willingness to remain vulnerable.”
Ah, that is it. It is not living enough years. It is not having enough experiences. It is not even suffering. It is learning through the years from the experiences and the suffering (Jas. 1:2-8; Rom. 5:1-4; 1 Pet. 1:6-7). Don’t just grow older; grow up.
© G. Michael Cocoris, 6/19/2007
Those in their early twenties look back to when they were 18 and are amazed at how much they have grown in a few short years. The same thing could be said of those who reached the milestones of 30, 40, or 50. At what age should we consider ourselves “grown up?” Is it, “When you do not unscrew your Oreos anymore?”
Age is not the issue. We have all known eighteen year olds who were mature beyond their years and 80-year-olds who were immature. Recently, Antonio Villaraigosa, the mayor of Los Angeles, announced that he and his wife were getting a divorce. Some felt that the way Villaraigosa handled the press conference, called to announce his divorce, was childish. Steve Lopez, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, wrote an article entitled “Mr. Mayor: Shut up, grow up, slowdown” (Los Angeles Times, June 14, 2007). Villaraigosa is 54 years old! Imagine telling a 54-year-old to shut up and grow up. Come to think of it, maybe there are a number of “older people” who need that message.
Perhaps, it takes longer to grow up than we think. In the Old Testament, a priest had to be thirty years old before he could serve in the Tabernacle (Num. 4:3, 23, 30, 35, 47). Jesus was about thirty before He began His ministry (Lk. 3:23). The Old Testament does not say how old Moses was when he first attempted to deliver the Israelites from bondage. Stephen says he was forty (Acts 7:23). What is interesting about that is the way the Old Testament describes the same event. It says “Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown” (Ex. 2:11). Does that imply that Moses was not “grown up” until he was forty? In his commentary on the book of Acts, Howard Marshall says, “‘Forty’ was the age at which a person had ‘grown up’ (Ex. 2:11).
Reaching a certain age is not the criteria for being “grown up.” Neither is it graduating from college, having children, being a mayor, or being President of the United States. Young people can make “grown-up” decisions and older people can make foolish decisions. Experience is not the measure of having arrived. Not even suffering will do the trick. As Anne Morrow Lindbergh says, “I do not believe that suffering teaches. If suffering alone taught, all the world would be wise, since everyone sufferers. To suffering must be added mourning, understanding, patience, love, openness, and the willingness to remain vulnerable.”
Ah, that is it. It is not living enough years. It is not having enough experiences. It is not even suffering. It is learning through the years from the experiences and the suffering (Jas. 1:2-8; Rom. 5:1-4; 1 Pet. 1:6-7). Don’t just grow older; grow up.
© G. Michael Cocoris, 6/19/2007
