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One word. Five minutes to write about it. This is the idea behind Five Minute Friday and this is today's free-writing post.
twenty something
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Since my daughter just had a birthday recently, I thought of twenty in terms of age. It's always been interesting to me that we have so many different milestone ages on the road to maturity. You can get social media accounts at thirteen (though this is not well-enforced). You can drive at sixteen in most states. You're a legal adult at eighteen, but in many states you can't buy liquor or cigarettes until twenty-one. You can stay on your parents' medical insurance until you're twenty-six. When do you become an adult, really? It's odd that the age twenty doesn't seem to have a special privilege attached to it, even though that's when you're officially no longer a teenager.
We like to remind ourselves that age is only a number, but that's more for those of us quite a bit older than twenty. Maturity is not just a number either, and that certainly does apply to the teens and twenty-somethings.
I think your 20s are the hardest part of life. I mean, everyone goes on about how hard it is to be a teenager, but actually I think it's tougher to be in your 20s because you're expected to be a grownup and expected to earn your own living and be successful and I think you feel like a kid still. ~Nigel Cole
I know young people in their early twenties who are still immature, selfish, and short-sighted. They treat those who love them and are trying to help them be better with contempt. They cut off contact with family and friends who might expect better behavior. They accuse others and double down on their stupid decisions rather than admit they need help or that they might have been in the wrong. In short, they are what the Bible often describes as "fools".
I know other young people in their twenties who are mature, responsible, and wise. They don't necessarily like it, but they try to seek out and accept advice from people who have been around longer than they have. They maintain healthy friendships and family relationships. They suck it up and ask for help. They try to make things right if they've messed up, and try to do better and learn from mistakes and dumb decisions. They are not perfect - none of us are! - but they are not fools.
Being mature is hard work. Or, as we have been saying for the past few years, "Adulting is hard." It is. Not just in the work world and in relationships and in social settings, but being mature in our thinking is a challenge for us when it comes to spiritual things too. At some point, we must graduate from what the author of Hebrews calls the "elemental teachings". We have to become mature enough to earn our Biblical Drivers License, to be trusted as adults in how we handle God's Word and interact with Christ's Body.
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. But when I became an adult, I set aside childish ways, ~I Corinthians 13:11
Dear brothers and sisters, don't be childish in your understanding of these things. Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but be mature in understanding matters of this kind. ~I Corinthians 14:20
(Paul is discussing spiritual gifts, and how they are to be used in the Church, particularly the gift of tongues)
But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. ~Hebrews 5:14
Oh, so we become mature by practicing. By training our minds and our powers of discernment. By digging deeper into God's Word to learn more and more about him and become more like him. The writer continues:
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. Surely we don't need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. ~Hebrews 6:1
Let's grow up! We're supposed to grow up and become more mature, and while it may be hard work at times, it's so incredibly rewarding to accept the challenge of being who God calls you to be and allowing him to work in your life!
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6 comments:
I completely understand your point about some twentysomethings rejecting advice from older adults. However, sometimes I don't blame them, as not all twentysomethings have nurturing families who are willing to help when the young adult is able to admit their wrongdoing and accept help. I, for one, was completely left to my own resources at age 21 and, when I struggled living on my own and being at university (I'm multiply-disabled and suffer from mental illness), my parents blamed me. In this sense, I do wish maturity came with age, but it requires conscious teaching from older people to the younger generation and conscious learning by children and young people. FMF#20
When we are young our age is measured in weeks or months. But as we get older we tend to only highlight the BIG birthdays.
A thought just occurred to me though....God planned for each of us to live in the exact time and place where we are. So...we should savor every moment and endeavor to be ever present in the lives of others. In doing so we will serve them & God well.
Amen Kym. And I'll say it again Amen 🙏🏻. I love your words here today my friend.
Visiting today from FMF #28
At what year did I come of age,
replacing brash with clever?
You ask, when did I turn the page?
I'll tell you, baby... never.
They say I'm like a high-school jock
who doesn't know the season's over,
and that's a bio I won't knock,
'cause I'm living in the clover
of a life that's not beholden
to some rigid test of time,
and when I look back to olden
days, I'm feeling mighty fine
not passing through the elders' door,
and I'm The Fonz forevermore.
a nicely thoughtful post, I'm happy that thus far, my lad is shaping up to be more wise than foolish in most of his outlook.
Thought-provoking post. Made me think about growing into our identity, which is something we try to do in our teens and twenties... it is often most difficult around those closest to us, around whom we are familiar and for whom and from whom there are often unspoken expectations that make it difficult to change in their presence. I notice many revert to childish behaviour in their parent's homes or childhood environments - even at school reunions.
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