1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.
I know the context of this passage is love and its relation to the gifts of the Spirit. However, it seems to me that the principle could be applied to a multitude of issues in our society. The thoughts, reasoning and expectations of children are radically different that those of adults. Children live in a protected world that shields them from the harsh realities of life. Becoming an adult involves a coming to term with those realities. Maturity faces those challenges head-on and learns how to deal with them. Growing up means leaving behind the fantasies of childhood in order to confront the realities of life.
I am distressed by the way our society encourages us to remain in the fantasy world of childhood. One example of this is happiness. Only children expect to be happy all the time. They expect a world where they should never be bored, but where they can skip merrily from one happy moment to the next. As one becomes an adult, there comes the realization that not all of life is happiness. There is genuine sadness as a result of the consequences of sin in this world. Parts of life are just plain old hard slogging. Work, play, marriage - all have their tough times.
That is why it distresses me to see the number of young men and women who are bailing out on their marriages because they are "not happy." There has been no major conflict. There has been no abuse. There has been no infidelity. They just aren't as happy as they think they ought to be. They are juveniles who believe their marriage should move from one blindingly passionate moment to the next, leaving them in a perpetual state of bliss. GROW UP!!! Only infants are immature enough to believe that life owes them perpetual happiness. It is time to become an adult and to realize that anything in this life that is going to be truly satisfying is going to involve hard work.
I know the context of this passage is love and its relation to the gifts of the Spirit. However, it seems to me that the principle could be applied to a multitude of issues in our society. The thoughts, reasoning and expectations of children are radically different that those of adults. Children live in a protected world that shields them from the harsh realities of life. Becoming an adult involves a coming to term with those realities. Maturity faces those challenges head-on and learns how to deal with them. Growing up means leaving behind the fantasies of childhood in order to confront the realities of life.
I am distressed by the way our society encourages us to remain in the fantasy world of childhood. One example of this is happiness. Only children expect to be happy all the time. They expect a world where they should never be bored, but where they can skip merrily from one happy moment to the next. As one becomes an adult, there comes the realization that not all of life is happiness. There is genuine sadness as a result of the consequences of sin in this world. Parts of life are just plain old hard slogging. Work, play, marriage - all have their tough times.
That is why it distresses me to see the number of young men and women who are bailing out on their marriages because they are "not happy." There has been no major conflict. There has been no abuse. There has been no infidelity. They just aren't as happy as they think they ought to be. They are juveniles who believe their marriage should move from one blindingly passionate moment to the next, leaving them in a perpetual state of bliss. GROW UP!!! Only infants are immature enough to believe that life owes them perpetual happiness. It is time to become an adult and to realize that anything in this life that is going to be truly satisfying is going to involve hard work.
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