Friday, June 28, 2013
Good Signposts
A Place for the God Hungry lists signs of immaturity:
I know many people today that constantly think about someone else - many of them mothers thinking about their children. But they do not listen to their children nor to they consider their children as anything more than a means to an end for themselves. Their children are a fulfillment of their desires and not independent individuals. Now, I don;t say that to pick on mothers, I say that to illustrate that maturity is about more than merely thinking about the other. It is about granting the other their independence - understanding that the other does not exist merely to benefit, or not, your world.
Maturity then is about a perspective that is outside of one;s own immediate experience and senses.
We live in a world where the subjective is increasingly glorified. "I like...," "I want...." We want iPads because they are cool when there are similar computing devices doing virtually the same thing at a fraction of the cost.
I thought this one from that post was outstanding:
maturity perspective
- Immature people accept no personal responsibility for their behavior. They will always have a justification for the way they act.
- Immature people manipulate others into giving them what they want. They will say and do anything to curry favor with others.
- Immature people will not talk with people directly. They play passive-aggressive games. They will smile at you in the hallway and sabotage you five minutes later.
- Immature people demand that the group they are in yield to them. They, after all, are used to others yielding to the least mature in the group.
- Immature people do not keep their commitments. They follow their urges rather than their principles.
I know many people today that constantly think about someone else - many of them mothers thinking about their children. But they do not listen to their children nor to they consider their children as anything more than a means to an end for themselves. Their children are a fulfillment of their desires and not independent individuals. Now, I don;t say that to pick on mothers, I say that to illustrate that maturity is about more than merely thinking about the other. It is about granting the other their independence - understanding that the other does not exist merely to benefit, or not, your world.
Maturity then is about a perspective that is outside of one;s own immediate experience and senses.
We live in a world where the subjective is increasingly glorified. "I like...," "I want...." We want iPads because they are cool when there are similar computing devices doing virtually the same thing at a fraction of the cost.
I thought this one from that post was outstanding:
Unfortunately, immature men and women impact other people. They tend to be indecisive, anxiously looking for the path of least resistance."The path of least resistance" may define immaturity. I wonder what the church would look like today if we asked ourselves what is best rather than what "works," which, let's face it, is closely related to least resistance. And shouldn't the church be the place that promotes maturity?
maturity perspective
