Mental Maturity

Mental maturity involves independence and self-care. It involves taking responsibility for commitments. It also means refusing to make excuses and to instead always strive for our best.

As parents, one of our goals was to teach our boys to be independent. We wanted them to know how to take care of themselves and to be responsible in a well-rounded way. This is the essence of mental maturity.

My husband often had to remind me of this goal when I expressed discouragement over my boys needing me less and less every day. My sadness about their pulling away from me became quite heavy at times, and that’s when he would say:

“Remember, that’s always been our goal.”

Like independence is important in our development as humans, learning dependence on Jesus and His Holy Spirit is even more so in our spiritual maturity.

Spiritual Maturity

Unfortunately, I don’t think we taught our boys the idea of spiritual maturity very well, probably because we’re still learning it ourselves. Dependence seems to go against the human part of us that desiress to be in control.

“Spiritual maturity is counter to human maturity.” (Live Dead Joy by Dick Brogden)

Spiritual maturity involves dependence on God and allowing him to actively care for us. It involves waiting patiently for him to unfold his will and then moving fully into it. Spiritual maturity also means continually acknowledging our weaknesses and realizing we can only be our best under his grace and mercy.

“Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God.” (Hebrews 6:1)

Moving forward in spiritual maturity brings growth that obviously lies beyond any we could obtain on our own.

The Mark of Love

Spiritual growth becomes obvious to ourselves and others through one indelible mark.

“Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’” (Matthew 22:37-40)

If we only mature in a mental way, especially as directed by our culture, we become increasingly self-serving and defiantly independent. If we also mature spiritually, though, we can live in humble obedience seen through the mark of love on our lives.