“Grow Up!”
Text: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9
2/12/2023
In the name of Him who alone can make our faith grow and flourish, dear friends in Christ. There used to be an advertisement for a toy store that had a catchy jingle about not wanting to grow up, presumably because there were so many neat toys in this store to play with! But let’s be honest. You can’t be a kid forever, no matter how bad you may want to! Not only that, we’ve come to expect certain levels of maturity in people, haven’t we? An infant is expected to act immature. They impatiently cry out when they’re hungry, tired, or need a diaper change. And even though it may wear on your nerves, most adults know that’s just what babies do. As they become toddlers, they learn that selfish word: “mine.” And they act as though the universe revolves around them. While we gently teach them otherwise, we expect this attitude from little toddlers. When they become an adolescent, we tolerate certain childish behavior as we urge them to act like a big girl or big boy. But by the time they’re teenagers, we kind of expect that those previous infantile behaviors will soon grind to a halt.
However, when an adult acts like a juvenile, society generally has very little tolerance for that. With disgust we say, “Grow up and act your age!” I’m not necessarily talking about a person having a mid-life crisis, like a 50-year-old trying to do stuff they used to be able to do as a teenager. Which, by the way, usually leads to an emergency room visit. No, I’m referring to childish behavior that’s embarrassing and unbecoming of a mature adult. Usually, society sends them a message to “Grow Up!”
Why is it, then, that we tolerate immature behavior when it comes to our faith? It’s pretty clear from our Epistle Lesson that St. Paul didn’t have much patience for childish, spiritual immaturity. In the opening verses he says, “But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready...” Paul is basically saying, “You guys are acting like a bunch of babies! When you were newborn Christians, I started you on the simple, pure milk of the Gospel because that’s all you could handle back then. But now you’re still stuck there!! It’s time you moved on to a more mature understanding and usage of your faith. It’s time you Grow Up!”
Ouch! That’s a rather harsh indictment from Paul. What would cause him to write that? Well, if you recall from our Epistles from 1 Corinthians the past couple of weeks then you know why. There were serious problems in the Corinthian Church because many of the people were acting like immature, spiritual babies. In the first two chapters Paul attacked the various cliques that were forming. They were like kids on a playground, bragging about how their teacher was better than anyone else’s. And it was dividing the church. In subsequent chapters he rips into them for tolerating a man who was having a sexual relationship with his step-mother. And they were boasting about it! They were suing each other left and right rather than resolving things in a Christian manner. Their cliques were also destroying their fellowship in celebrating the Lord’s Supper. They were fixated on speaking in tongues which was causing confusion and divisions. And they had fallen prey to false teachings about the resurrection of our bodies on the Last Day. To all of this Paul says, “Grow Up! And start acting like mature Christians!”
Now perhaps you think that St. Paul was overreacting. Yeah, he was frustrated by this immaturity, but he didn’t need to go postal on them! Surely Jesus would never have done that, right? Wrong! In Matthew 11, Jesus says, “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’” Christ was sharply rebuking them for acting like a bunch of spiritually immature children. Jesus and John the Baptist refused to play their game by telling those spoiled brats what they wanted to hear. Rather, they warned of God’s wrath while also holding the door of heaven open for them through faith in the Savior. In essence, they urged them to “Grow Up!”
Isn’t that the very same message from Jesus in today’s Gospel reading? He’s telling us that God’s law is not to be trifled with. It’s not child’s play, it’s serious business. If you just look at God’s law as a series of elaborate do’s and don’ts then you’re viewing it like an immature child. Instead, He urges us to look deeper with mature eyes of faith and see that obeying God’s law begins in our hearts, not by simply restricting certain outward actions. You see, immature Christians will always try to pat themselves on the back for keeping the commandments—outwardly, that is. Jesus says that’s not good enough.
An immature spiritual baby thinks that just because you haven’t hit or killed someone, then you’re innocent of breaking the 5th Commandment. Jesus says, “Grow Up!” Simply thinking angry, hateful thoughts is the same as murder in God’s eyes. An immature spiritual baby thinks that as long as you don’t cheat on your spouse or have sex outside of marriage then you’ve properly kept the 6th Commandment. Jesus says, “Grow Up!” Even just thinking lustful thoughts crosses the line. Yes, that would include pornography, dirty jokes, and flirting with a coworker. And contrary to what our kids are being told today, sex with your clothes on is still sex! Christ goes so far as to say that if your hand or eye causes you to sin it would be better to cut it off. That’s serious, adult language! An immature spiritual baby treats marriage like a mere contract that can torn up and disregarded. Jesus says, “Grow Up!” Marriage was meant to be the union of a man and woman for life! And an immature spiritual baby throws around oaths using God’s name like candy at a parade. Jesus says, “Grow Up!” You’re not only defaming God when you do this, but you’re also showing just how unreliable your word is!
Maybe some of what I just said stung you because it touched on an immature attitude that you are harboring in your heart. But we’ve barely scratched the surface. Where else might you and I be acting like spiritually immature babies? Here’s one that I am convinced harms the church almost more than anything else. When someone gets hurt or offended by another person, how do they handle it? Jesus says the mature Christian is supposed to immediately go to that person and try to resolve it face to face. Is that what we do? Not hardly! Rather, we sit back pouting and seething with resentment. By golly we’re NOT going to call that person because they were the offender, not me! So we sit and wait, and as we wait we rehearse the offense over and over in our minds until it almost drives us crazy. More likely, it drives us to deeper anger and bitterness. If you think I’m talking about you, I probably am. But let me assure you, I actually have one person in particular in mind who keeps doing this repeatedly, and he should know better. And I’m going to tell you who he is: me! To all of us Jesus says, “Grow Up!”
Here’s another infantile behavior to look out for. When troubles come into your life, how do you respond? Do you go off like an immature child and figuratively suck your thumb, crying about how unfair life is or that God is picking on you? After all, you’re not such a bad person. Well, at least you’re not as bad as some of those other people out there. Shoot, you’re actually pretty decent. You come to church and you try to obey God and you try not swear or engage in too many vices. God ought to be beaming with pride when He looks at you, right? Think again.
Do you remember a guy named Job from the Old Testament? He endured enormous financial and personal disasters, as well as severe health problems. Unfortunately, he adopted a childish spiritual response. He debated back and forth with his friends about how righteous he was and how unfair all his suffering was and indicting God for being unfair in the process. Near the end of the book, God finally answers Job’s long speech of self-justification. The Lord basically says to him, “Okay, Job. Put on your big-boy panties and face me like a man. It’s time to Grow Up!” God then proceeds to show Job how childish he had been. To which Job responds with utter humility and repentance. And that, my friends, is when he finally begins acting like a spiritually mature believer.
And therein lies the lesson for us. You can stomp out of here today and be mad because God’s Word has touched a nerve or hurt your poor widdle feewings. In your spiritual immaturity you can decide to sit there in your sinfulness like a dirty diaper, refusing to let God change you. Or, you can Grow Up! When we begin to see just how sinful we really have been and how we’ve made our situation even worse by our ridiculous, childish behavior; when we admit that we have no one else to blame but ourselves; and when we acknowledge that we have nowhere to turn except to God’s undeserved mercy; that’s when we finally begin to act like spiritually mature believers in Jesus Christ. Then you are ready for the solid spiritual food that St. Paul writes about. That solid food of the Gospel comes to you in God’s Word and Sacrament. It feeds your soul so that your faith may grow and mature and remain strong. Once you’ve left behind those childish ways and attitudes, you will find yourself hungering more and more for the solid food of the Gospel. Mature Christians don’t have to be pushed to receive that precious “soul food” in worship, Bible classes, personal devotions, and Scripture reading at home. Instead, they desire it more than anything else in this world, seeking to grow up in the Lord. May God grant this to all of us for Jesus’ sake. Amen!
Soli Deo Gloria!