"Adult or Child?"

"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." 1 Corinthians 13:11

God doesn't always do what we want Him to do and when we want Him to do it. Just because He is all powerful we think that He should make everything in our lives better. We think He should always intervene so that nothing bad happens. We think He should answer every prayer we pray in the affirmative. Well, we live in a world that is under a curse and we also have been given the gift of choice, so things won't always go perfectly or the way we plan. When they don't go the way you would like, had planned or hoped they would go, are you going to be an "adult" about it, or act like a "child"? Let me explain myself.

Children don't know how to accept the word "no". They always want what they want. If they don't get it, they react with a couple of responses. They pout, get angry, some resort to temper tantrums, screaming and yelling. They are also famous for trying to wear you down through the endless, "but why?", question. A spiritual "child" responds to God when they don't get what they want, the same way.

To be an "adult", on the other hand, means you don't get angry with God. You don't blame Him, you don't threaten not to have anything else to do with Him, you don't turn your back on Him and walk away. (Like children who pick up their toys and go home.) Adults may ask the question "why?", but accept the answer and continue on with God, even if they still don't understand.

Children don't understand why they didn't get their way and will continue to press the issue until you either give them what they want or take measures to deal with their attitude. Adults trust that God has their best interest at heart and that He does, allows, or withholds every thing that concerns their lives based on His great love for them and His own wise council. Children live for the moment- instant gratification, fulfilled desires- and aren't content without attaining it right away. Adults know that God sees ahead and knows everything- the outcome, the consequences and the end result of certain things if allowed- and are content to put the matter in God's hand.

Look in the mirror and ask yourself today if you are a "child", spiritually speaking, or an "adult". Do you get angry with God or accept that He is all-wise and all-knowing and that whether you understand or not He will work all things together for your good? Are you not satisfied until He gives you an answer that tells you what you want to hear, or do you trust that His ways are perfect and leave it in His hands? So where are you at in your spiritual growth? Adult or child?

Have a great day. When things either do or don't go the way you planned or desire, do you act like a child or an adult?

For further reading:
Romans 8:28
1 Corinthians 3:1,2
Ephesians 4:14
2 Peter 3:17,18
1 Peter 2:2