What is maturity? What is the greatest quality of someone who is mature? Does someone who is mature realize they are mature or is it really immature to think you’re mature? These are some of the questions I’ve been asking myself lately. The questions arise mainly from the start of another season coaching high school football. As coaches, we talk a lot about a player being physically mature, but anyone who’s ever worked with teenage boys knows, physical maturity and emotional and relational maturity are two very different things.

Culturally speaking, it seems like maturity is synonymous to being responsible (something that few teenagers really are). I asked two young men (who I believe are very mature for their ages), how they would define maturity and “responsible” was both of their answers. If that’s the case, how are we as parents helping or hindering the growth and maturity of our kids (especially teenagers)?

What about spiritual maturity? Recently, a friend of mine said, he thought the biggest part of being mature is realizing what your personal “issues” are and addressing them through Christ’s power. I’d say maturity is walking in humility (a proper estimation of oneself) before God and others. Maturity doesn’t come with any certain age and there are no guarantees that everyone will become mature. In Scripture, the first verse that comes to my mind when I think about maturity is:

¹¹When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 1 Corinthians 13:11

What are your thoughts on the subject? How are you pursuing spiritual maturity with the help of Christ today? Care to share?