Tonight we looked at further examples of spiritual immaturity as we looked at leaving behind childish things. (1 Cor 13:11) Last time we looked at four characteristics of immaturity:

1. Wanting our own way
2. Having the wrong worldview
3. A tendency to see things in two dimensions only
4. Having no concept of the benefits of delayed gratification

Tonight, we continued by looking at other examples:
5. Believing you know it all
6. Believing that one size fits all
7. Making mountains out of molehills
8. Relying on outward appearances
9. Sectarianism
10. Having a grumbling, ungrateful spirit
11. Legalism

Teenagers in the natural realm often believe they know it all. They are often arrogant, believing they have the answer to all of life’s questions and are often intolerant of any who disagree with them. As we mature, we realise that there is much that we do not understand: as Mark Twain wryly commented, ‘When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.’ As we mature, we come to understand that knowledge is not the be-all and end-all of faith and that love is the thing that builds up. (1 Cor 8:1-3). Compromise, tolerance and humility are all characteristics of maturity.

Immaturity also believes that ‘one size fits all’, or, in DIY terms, ‘I have a hammer and everything is a nail.’ Just as one size in clothing will not fit everyone, so we need to appreciate complexity and diversity in life, attempting to get to grips with the ‘whole will of God’ (Acts 20:27) rather than having bees in our bonnets or having a blinkered view of life.

There is also a tendency to make mountains out of molehills or to trivialise the important and to highlight the insignificant. This is especially seen in teenage mood swings and Christians can be equally unstable. Rather than being ‘tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming’ (Eph 4:14), God wants us to be rooted and established in love. (Eph 3:17-19) Churches can be split over disagreements that are really nothing more than molehills, but we are urged to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (see Eph 4:3, Phil 4:2, Heb 12:14-15)