Growing Up

I know.  Some of you all that are a bit older than me are shaking your head thinking, "What does this kid know about growing up?"  I get it.  I get it.

Anyways, let me share with you what I shared a few weeks ago at Reach service which is somewhat college and career class at Englewood Church of God.

See, I loved church camp.  In my family you didn't go to 4-H camp (one because it was too expensive & two because church camp was better) but you went to church camp.  I was camp.  I felt like if you mentioned camp and you knew me that my face associated with your thoughts.  I was always excited come April because that's when sign up started.  Mom would pay my 5 dollar deposit and I'd work my tail off to earn the other money by doing extra odd jobs around the house.  (No not mowing or anything normal.  Extra jobs.  Builds character, right dad?)

So I would go to camp and then all of a sudden it was over and I'd come home exhausted trying to find a way to go back and work the next week of camp, because I loved it.

Well, during college I couldn't go and then I got a job as a 4-H agent.  They said oh by the way, your first full week on the job is going to be at camp.  I was like, "BOOYAH, I got this!"  I was excited see because I was camp.

When I got there things changed.  I realized that everyone depended on me.  It was like this:  "Justin, I'm hot.  Justin, I miss my mom.  Justin, I hate this place.  Justin, I don't wanna do that."

Yeah you can picture it.  See what happened to me is that I was just like everyone of us in the church.  We come expecting it to be about us.   We come in with this idea that we are the ones that should be entertained all the time when really we should be doing the work.

In 1 Corinthians 13:11 it says that when 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.

See we get stuck in our "baby Christian" mentality.  Where I come from it's bad because we are raised in youth groups where there is always something for us and then all of a sudden when you become "an adult" you are on your own to figure it out.

We have to get over the mentality that it's okay to go out and experiment then come back to the house of God when we have kids that need to be there or when we feel like it's time to settle down.  We are called to live a holy and acceptable life.  It's our reasonable service.

I like how Solomon progresses.  See he took over after David, his father.  David was the great king who we know was a man after God's own heart.  Solomon was young and understood he was young.  That's what I love the most is that he didn't let his young pride in the way, but yet that he acknowledges that he is young.

In 1 Kings 3 we see God appear in a dream and ask him what he wants.  I love Solomon's response:  "You have shown great mercy to Your servant David, my father, because he walked before you in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with you; You have continued this great kindness for him and You have given him a son to sit on his throne as it is this day.  Now, O Lord my God, You have made your servant king instead of my father, David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in....therefore give to your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people that I may discern between good and evil..."

I love that he acknowledges that he knows nothing.  I believe in that moment he grew up to become what he was called to be.

I like this quote and how it sums up growing up.

"Ingratitude denotes spiritual immaturity.  Infants do not always appreciate what their parents do for them.  They have short memories.  Their concern is not what you did for me yesterday but what you are doing for me today.  The past and future are meaningless.  They live for the present.  Those who are mature are deeply appreciative of those who labored in the past.  They recognize those who labor during the present and provide for those who will be laboring in the future."

It's almost opposite of what seems to be the collective idea of church.  People come to hear a word from God.  When it's not what they want they get mad.  They don't care that you brought a word from God in the past, and could care less if it's coming in the future.  They want to hear what they want to hear now.

We've got to get past the "ME" attitude.  We must come to the realization that we are called to be the church and it seems that when we read about the church in scripture somewhere close either in front or behind it's mentioning is an action word such as: go, love, be, do, etc.  We are the church so we must love like the church is supposed to love.

I encourage you to push the "ME" mentality and be like Solomon.  Ask for wisdom.  Ask for what you lack.  Love people.  Grow in Christ.

You may think change is hard, but change only occurs when the pain to change is less than the pain to stay the same.