You may have heard kids say, “I can’t wait to grow up.” or “When I grow up, I’m going to…”. I fall into that category as well. As a kid, I couldn’t wait to be a “big boy”. Little did I know that when I became a “big boy” I would have the responsibilities of such too. I am beginning to understand the concept of different things such as having a credit score and taking out bank loans. Those are big things to do and understand for a kid like myself, but the benefits led to me having the nice truck I have now. I believe the reason “big boys” can manage those things is because of the word “maturity.”
In James 1, we read of this idea. In verse 2 we read that we ought to treat trials as a joyous occasion. That is a strange thought if you look at it on the surface, but in verse 4 we can see that it leads to perfection. Now, the word perfect here does not mean flawless, but maturity. In the original Greek, “trials” is translated to “testing” or “temptation” depending on the context the word is in. The “maturity” theme is continued in verses 14 and 15. Those verses say, “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” I think of it as a fisherman trying to catch a fish, or a hunter trapping his prey. Sin is luring and enticing us to fall victim to his temporary, worldly satisfaction.
I encourage you to seek people who have been Christians for many decades and see how they handle temptation now and I would almost guarantee that they would say that they have fallen victim before, but they have matured throughout their Christian journey. If you have been a Christian for many years, and dealt with many temptations, think back on how you have matured and how you now handle new temptations. Then seek out ways to help the younger generation because they need it.
Logan Baldwin