Is It Time for All of Us to Grow Up a Little More?

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. 1 Corinthians 13:11

I was about eight years old, and although my memory is now a bit hazy about the entire affair, I believe it came about because of a picture I had seen in science class. It was one of those cutaway pictures of the earth with illustrations of the crust, whatever that next layer is, and all the way down to the bright glowing core. I noticed that the crust was a pretty small layer, so I thought, “Well, how cool would it be to dig down to the next layer of the earth? I think I’ll start in my front yard.” There were visions of me digging down deeply enough to see the glow from the center of the earth. I might be able to dig all the way through and pop my head up in China just like cartoon characters did. I managed to dig out about a 10-inch divot before my mother called me into dinner and I forgot about the whole enterprise. Of course, it sounds absolutely foolish now that I’m an adult, but at the time I had no idea about such things like map scale, how hard bedrock is to dig through with a shovel, and the fact that the center of the earth is hot enough to melt metal (so much for the shovel at that point). Plus, assuming I made it past all of those obstacles, once I had reached the center I would have had to dig UP and would have discovered the overwhelming power of gravity.

I’ve learned a lot since then. I’ve read more books. I have more information. I’m much less ignorant about how maps and the earth work. I no longer think as a child does. This is the illustration that Paul is using in his letter to the Corinthians. This is a familiar verse. It comes toward the end of the great “love” chapter that we hear at weddings. It’s all about how we don’t yet know all that we will know. In many ways our thoughts, beliefs, and even our faith can be compared to a child’s thinking. But we will grow up. We will know more, think better, and be far more developed in our faith as we all mature toward that state of perfection that we hope and work for. We will put away childish things. Notice that Paul in no way suggests that such simple thinking is wrong – he doesn’t add “…and boy, was I stupid for thinking that way!” It’s rather just an accurate description of how we all think when we’re young. But we grow up. We mature. We learn more.

I’ve been thinking about this as I take a look at some of the “cancel culture” that happens. A sports star or a film celebrity will have their career threatened or ruined because someone unearths a statement or a Tweet from long ago that was insensitive or hurtful. There is a tendency to withhold any grace from them or allow for any maturity or growth in thought. Instead, the reaction is, “Wow, you said this silly thing. You are no longer worthy of our respect.” Politicians may be falsely labeled because of a vote cast 40 years ago without consideration that maybe he or she just didn’t have enough good information at that time. No matter what sort of good the person might do now, it is tainted by what happened in the past. It’s not at all fair. We have all said things, done things, thought things that we now blush about and would never say or do now. We have learned more and put away childish things. We have grown up. And just as we have been able to mature, think differently, set aside childish bigotries or ignorant prejudices, we must give others the grace to do so as well. There’s a difference between “just plain wrong” and “ignorant”, and too often we fail to give people the benefit of the doubt and give them the grace to learn more.

We are always learning, always maturing, and somewhere inside all of us is a vision of perfection that God has placed in all of us. It's how we are able to judge what is "better" or "worse" when it comes to character formation. So, let’s give each other a little more grace and a little less condemnation. Much of the divisiveness that our culture suffers could be eased if we were all just a little more merciful, willing to allow for some childish thinking on all of our parts, and willing to help each other grow up.