MATURITY

I remember the first time I saw the movie, "Peter Pan." I was a little girl,
totally mesmerized by the character of Peter. I wanted to be just like him.
After the movie was over, I immediately ran into my back yard and jumped out of a tree – trying to fly! Fortunately, nothing was broken, and I quickly
decided I could be contented with being like Peter in other ways. I
immediately vowed never to grow up. I agreed with Peter that the adult world seemed frightening; it was very large and demanding, completely beyond my control.

The same principle is true when it comes to our spiritual development and
growth. If the desire to grow isn't present in our lives, there's something
wrong with our spiritual health.  Healthy Christians grow and mature. It's
natural for the Christian to grow and mature in Christ. God not only wants us to grow, He commands us to do so.

The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the church at Corinth, correcting them for their childish attitudes about the spiritual gifts of tongues, knowledge and Prophecy. He encouraged them to grow up, to put away these less mature gifts, and to seek the more mature gifts such as love, faith and hope.

We can apply this same encouragement to our lives today. It's time for us to become mature believers by putting away immature attitudes and actions. One of the most obvious marks of maturity or immaturity is how we use words. 

Mature believers don't speak like children. We never know exactly what a child is going to say, but we naturally expect childish words to come from children. Paul is saying that a great measurement of maturity for us as Christians is how well we use words. 

Our words need to be controlled. In the book of James, we find a sobering challenge.  "We all make many mistakes, but those who control their tongues can also control themselves in every other way" (James 3:2)

If we can control our tongues, we can control ourselves. James, a
disciple of Jesus, compares the tongue to the rudder on a ship, a bit in the
horse's mouth or a spark that starts a huge fire. The tongue is powerful and difficult to control.  Our words can give or destroy life.  Once a word is spoken, it is eternal.

Our words need to be encouraging. One of the highest responsibilities in the body of Christ is to practice encouragement. A word of encouragement may be a life preserver to someone drowning in a storm of life. 

Our words need to be truthful. Mark Twain said, "A lie can travel half way
around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." Lies hold us in
bondage while truth sets us free.

We need to be extremely careful what we say and how we say it because the spoken word is powerful. It can bless or curse, express praise or whisper slander. It can be a tool of blessing or a weapon of destruction. How we use the tongue is a dead give-away of our spiritual maturity. If we don't learn to control our tongue, it will control us.

I know! Maturity is hard work. It would be a lot easier to remain babies in
Christ, but in order to live a life of victory and honor God, we need to set
our minds and hearts on growing up spiritually.

The words we speak are direct indicators of our maturity level. Ouch! If you are like me, you really do want to use words as a gift of encouragement, but it is so easy to speak before we think.

Let's get into God's Word so we will have good things to speak. Let's pray diligently so we will be prepared to give a Godly verbal response. 

And when we fail, let's confess our frailty, celebrate God's strength…and
begin again.

Let's Pray:
Father, I confess that I am still childish and lack maturity in many areas of
my life. I now lay those areas before You, and ask that You take control.
Teach me Your ways. Lord. Help me control my tongue and speak words that encourage and build others up. Right now, I give myself anew to You and pray that in the days to come, I will grow up so that others will see You in my life. In Jesus' name, Amen.