Growing Up or Just Growing Old.
At one point, I always believed people would grow up. You expect little boys to act like boys. And little girls to act like girls. But at some point in your life, you stop calling people ‘boys and girls’ and change to ‘men and women’. But when is it that you can call them that? When do people finally grow up?
Recently, I realized that age has nothing to do with growing up. It’s not about the age of the flesh’s maturity, but that of the Spirit’s. A person is finally grown up when they stop ‘sipping on milk and finally starts to eat solid food’. This means age has no hold on our maturity level. Which means the Korean ‘respect the elders because they have more wisdom’ is a bit short of the truth. True, we should respect them because they have wisdom through age, but this does not mean that they’re wise. or mature.
How foolish of me to think that I can only look up for insight, but not below. Those who are younger still have insight as well. And even as adults, it seems like some never grow up. My own professors at Biola showed me their true colors when I saw an email that was accidentally sent to a group of students of a conversation that was discussing another student’s work. Wow. just… wow. Just reading that conversation made me realize how much I don’t want to be like them. Yes, we should consider them as imperfect, but as Paul set himself as an example to the Philippians of Christ, then shouldn’t those who are older? Who are supposed to know more spiritually? who can guide the naive and young to do great things in His name?
Disappointment surges through me. And anger with disappointment. Growing old doesn’t mean you grow up. You never escape the jungle gym bully I guess. Even in a Christian campus like this. So I implore those who are young to wisen up. To not anticipate for the day where they consider themselves old and ‘wise’, but to get there now. To be integrated into the wisdom of Christ asap. Don’t wait. Because I don’t want to still be struggling at that age. I want to be someone that people can look up to. And I implore those who are older than me, yet still immature in thinking to stop. Leave those thinkings behind and fuel forward through the grace of God. Let’s grow up. Together in Christ.
