|
C
|
hildhood can be
beautiful. The pureness of a child’s laughter, the innocence of their
judgements, the genuine curiosity of their questions, the fragility of their
movements and the honesty in their mistakes makes us rush forward and hold them
in a tight embrace. At the same time, their unceasing energy and disobedience,
their inability to see the world from someone else’s perspective and their
selfishness causes us to wish they would grow up and mature. Childhood is a
beautiful cloak when worn by a child. But when that cloak is worn by an adult,
the beauty of childhood becomes hideous. Childhood is not a garment to be worn
by adults. Ecclesiastes 10:16 says ‘Woe to you, o land when your king is a
child’. In other words, woe to the woman whose man is a boy…woe to the man
whose wife-to-be is mentally pre-pubescent girl.
Singlehood is just
as beautiful as childhood. It is a life to be enjoyed. However, when loneliness
hits or when we allow culture to shape our thinking, we look for the seemingly
best person to hitch our single horse to, thinking that it will make us happy.
In our short-sightedness and lack of patience, we wind up in a relationship
with someone who is immature. Ladies, if he talks while he chews or burps
loudly, that is not what makes him immature. Gentleman, her inability to keep a
house is not the biggest sign of childishness. One can be immature spiritually,
emotionally, mentally, financially, physically, socially, and educationally.
We all have
growing to do in these aspects; that goes without saying. However, there are
those who are seriously lacking; lacking so much so that they are simply not
prepared for a relationship. In order for a Christ-built relationship to form,
each of these pillars must be solid enough at least to bear the brunt of
carving in order to make it better.
Spiritual Maturity
means that the individual is already committed to Christ and involved in a
personal, covenant and growing relationship with Him whether or not you are a
part of his or her life. Deut. 6:5 says ‘you shall love the Lord your God with
all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.’
An Emotionally Mature individual
does not take everything personally, has healed from past hurt and is not
guided by emotions but by morals and godly principles.
The Mentally Matured are able to
process information accurately, communicate effectively and ‘act their age’. 1
Cor. 3:2 says ‘I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for
it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is
jealousy and quarreling among you, are you no worldly? Are you not acting like
mere humans?’
A
Financially Mature individual
is not frivolous and is a good steward; spending money wisely, living within
his means and giving to the needy. Pro. 17:16 ‘Of what use is money in the hand
of a fool, since he has no desire to get wisdom?’
Surprisingly, Physical Maturity is rarely
considered when entering a relationship but it is crucial. Personally, I would
not date and commit to a young man who is not concerned about his overall
health and body. Why? Because he is going to treat me the same way he treats
his body. Eph. 5:28, 29, 33 says ‘So husbands must love their wives as they
love their own bodies. A man who loves his wife loves himself. No one ever
hated his own body. Instead, he feeds and takes care of it, as Christ takes
care of the church…every husband must love his wife as he loves himself.’ A
physically matured individual takes care of his body because in marriage, your
body does not only belong to you.
If you are
contemplating marriage, single people should not be the only ones in your
social circle. You Mature Socially
when the society you frequent help you to grow as an individual and at the same
time teaches you about a Godly relationship. Pro. 21:17 says ‘as iron sharpens
iron, so one person sharpens another.’
Being Educationally Mature does not
mean that you have a wall displaying all of your degrees; there are many academic
fools who went to school but are not educated. Rather, it denotes your
willingness to be taught and to be open to different ideas that will help you
in “this life and the life to come”.
When God described
the curses to fall on apostate Israel, He said “I will give children to be
their princes, and babes will rule over them” (Is.3:4). Ladies, it is a
blessing to be in a Christ-built relationship with a man who is princely,
mature and not a boy. Gentlemen, it is a joy to be committed to a woman who has
left the shallow shores of girlhood and plunged into the deep ocean of virtuous
womanhood. “Blessed art thou, O {woman}, when thy king is the son of nobles,
and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!”
Eccl. 10:17
Childhood is a
lovely cloak when worn by a child. The same cloak is hideous in appearance when
shamefully worn by an adult, especially one preparing for marriage. May our
prayer continually be, “O God, may my land be governed by a son of nobles
and not a child.”
No comments:
Post a Comment