Today's Devotional
October 16 , 2007
Subject: We Don't Have To Grow Up, But We Should
Ephesians 4:14 - 15 "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:"
This happens at least 3 or 4 times a week. I have a heart to heart with some student because they "went off" on somebody about something. In bad cases they are blasting a teacher or an administrator because they are upset. In worse cases they are fighting or about to fight another student simply because they were offended or "heard" that the other student said something about them.
My conversations always takes the same direction. I tell them that as children we are easily offended, but as we mature, we realize that we can't be so easily upset by everything that we hear about us or something that "someone" said. For the first five minutes they defend their right to get mad because someone is "talking behind their back" or because the other party is "messy," but I keep reiterating how that really has nothing to do with them. They look at me strange as I tell them that they can't be offended by what they heard that somebody said. I then start driving home the point that "as we mature we are less offended by what others say, " I end with the line that I used in the subject.
The truth is that while some people grow older, they never mature. The scriptures above talk about how children are carried away by everything that they hear and it goes on to say that we should grow up.
When I talk to the students at school, I always point out several reasons why they should grow up, but I always leave it up to them in the end, because in reality, none of us "have" to grow up, but boy, life is so much better when we do. We don't have to grow up, but we should.
Carlen
