ARE YOU GROWING UP OR GROWING OLD?
1 Peter 3:8-12
P.S. The barometer for growing old is the same for growing up, it is your ATTITUDE.
INTRODUCTION
A little girl sat in her granddads lap, and with the cuteness only a granddaughter could muster, asked
Granpy, are you old?
Grandpas reply was a quisitive, No, sweetie what makes you say that?
Little Susie responded, Because, your head is coming through your hair
Our society is addicted to youth. We will do anything, spend any amount of money and go anywhere just to maintain that youthful image.
I ead this week,’ the quest for eternal youth goes on. So does the urge to reduce, reshape, restore or -- a favorite buzzword on cosmetic surgery Web sites -- rejuvenate various body parts. Americans underwent more than 10 million cosmetic surgeries and body-modifying procedures last year. They spent nearly $12 billion on doctor fees alone.
No one wants to be thought of as being, OLD.
One of the famous quotes I have been hearing since turning 50 is, “ Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional.’
Let’s be real, we are all getting older. You and I grew the same age over the last week. None of us have actually grown yonger. You can have liposuction, plastic surgery, hair replacement, but nothing will ever change the reality that we are advancing in age together.
And, let’s be honest IT’S PAINFUL.
The question I want to ask today is, are you growing up or just growing old?
How do you know if you are growing up? Does it mean our hair starts to turn grey? No, that means we’re growing older not necessarily wiser. There are lots of people who have gray hair but still act like thye are 16. Signs of aging do not necessarily mean we are showing signs of maturity.
So, are you growing up oir just old? What’s the difference?
You know you're getting old...
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1. You and your teeth don't sleep together.
2. Your try to straighten out the wrinkles in your socks and discover you aren't wearing any.
3. At the breakfast table you hear snap, crackle, pop and you're not eating cereal.
4. Your back goes out but you stay home.
5. When you wake up looking like your driver's license picture.
6. It takes two tries to get up from the couch.
7. When your idea of a night out is sitting on the patio.
8. When happy hour is a nap.
9. When you're on vacation and your ENERGY runs out before your money does.
10. When you say something to your kids that your mother said to You, and you always hated it.
11. When all you want for your birthday is to not be reminded of your age.
12. When you step off a curb and look down one more time to make sure the street is still there.
13. Your idea of weight lifting is standing up.
14. It takes longer to rest than it did to get tired.
15. Your memory is shorter and your complaining lasts longer.
16. Your address book has mostly names that start with Dr.
17. You sit in a rocking chair and can't get it going.
18. The pharmacist has become your new best friend.
19. Getting "lucky" means you found your car in the parking lot.
20. The twinkle in your eye is merely a reflection from the sun on your bifocals.
21. It takes twice as long - to look half as good.
22. Everything hurts, and what doesn't hurt - doesn't work.
23. You look for your glasses for half an hour and they were on your head the whole time.
24. You sink your teeth into a steak and they stay there.
25. You give up all your bad habits and still don't feel good.
26. You have more patience, but it is actually that you just don't care anymore.
27. You finally get your head together and your body starts falling apart.
28. You wonder how you could be over the hill when you don't even remember being on top of it.
All humor aside, there is a difference between growing up and growing old.
The difference is found in a persons ATTITUDE.
A person is is growing OLD is often described as CRANKY. This crankiness, is often expressed through legalism.
Legalism is “Taking a commandment or opinion of men, and teaching or promoting it as a doctrine from God. It gives man’s word the same weight as God’s word. If I say, “In my opinion, you should no longer eat hamburgers from MacDonald’s” then you are free to say “That’s a nice opinion, now leave me alone.” But when someone says, “God says you should no longer eat hamburgers from MacDonald’s” then they make it seem like you are opposing God if you don’t do as they say.”
Another sign is CRITICISM. A man and his wife once pulled into a gas station to refuel their car. As the tank was being refilled, the station attendant washed the windshield. When he finished, the driver of the car said, "The windshield is still dirty. Wash it again." Yes, sir," the attendant answered. As he scrubbed the windshield a second time, he looked closely for any bugs or dirt he might have missed. When he finished, the man in the car became angry. "It’s still dirty!" He yelled. Don’t you know how to wash a windshield? Do it again!" The attendant cleaned the windshield a third time, carefully looking for any place he might have missed, but could find no messy spots anywhere. By now, the driver was fuming. He screamed, "This windshield is still filthy! I’m going to talk to your boss to make sure you don’t work here another day. You are the lousiest windshield washer I have ever seen!" As he was about to get of the car, his wife reached over and removed his glasses. She carefully wiped them with a tissue, and then put them back on his face. The driver embarrassingly slumped down into his seat as he observed a spotless windshield.
The lesson is simply, critical people view others through their own dirty glasses.
Finally, growing old is characterized by COMPLACENCY. This is further characteriszed by the fear of CHANGE. Change is the one thing we fight as we grow older because it is the most difficult thing to adjust too. We like things the same because we are comfortable. We do not like to have to adjust to the discomfort of the unknown.
Ironically, the Christian has little choice but change. It is our goal and call.
The Bible says, from I am being change from glory to glory into the image of Christ.
One day my body will take on a new glorious one.
In 2 Cor. 5 we are told that ‘ We are new creatures in Christ Jesus…’
We will all grow older, but the question is are we growing up?
The writer to the Hebrews addresses this very matter when he takes his readers to task for their lack of maturity. They had grown older in the faith, but they had not grown up. As Chuck Swindoll puts it,
‘instead of building on the foundation laid by the Apostles, they were still playing with blocks.’
Listen to what he says in Hebrews 5:12-6:3 ( CEV)
12By now you should have been teachers, but once again you need to be taught the simplest things about what God has said. You need milk instead of solid food. 13People who live on milk are like babies who don't really know what is right. 14Solid food is for mature people who have been trained to know right from wrong.
Then he continues to corner the readers in Hebrews 6
1We must try to become mature and start thinking about more than just the basic things we were taught about Christ. We shouldn't need to keep talking about why we ought to turn from deeds that bring death and why we ought to have faith in God. 2And we shouldn't need to keep teaching about baptisms [a] or about the laying on of hands [b] or about people being raised from death and the future judgment. 3Let's grow up,
Do you notice the Lord’s concern that some are perpetually immature? ‘’You need miklk,…you need again someone to teach you the elementals…
One writer has noted that, ‘Few things are more pathetic to behold than those who have known the Lord for years but still can’t get out of the rain doctrinally and biblically. To put it succinctly, they have grown old, but haven’t grown up.’
Let me ask you some penetrating questions, ‘Are you digging into the Word of God on your own? Are you engaged in ministry of concerted and prevailing prayer? Can you handle pressure better than you could, say, three years ago, Are you further along on your growth chart than you were a year ago, two years ago, five years ago, or how about a week ago?
How can we know we are growing up?
If the barometer for growing old is our attitude, than the barometer for growing up is, guess what, YOUR ATTITUDE!
Take a look at 1 Peter 3:8-12, here Peter gives you and I a checklist for spiritual maturity. Notice there are no less than eight checkpoints in this passage. They help us determine how we are doing in our spiritual growth toward maturity. The first is
HARMONY
This is more than just unity. It is not the same as uniformity where everyone looks and thinks alike.
Nor is Peter referring to unamity, where 100 percent agree on everything all the time.
And it certainly is not the same as union, where there is an affiliation with others but no common bond that makes them one of heart. ( Like the Rotary or Lions Clubs for eg.)
Harmony refers to a ‘oneness of heart, similarity of purpose, and an agreement on major points of doctrine.’
The best way I can illustrate harmony is to use the piano or orchestra as an example
( GO T0 KEY BOARD AND PLAY)
The secret to this kind of harmony is not to focus on petty peripheral differences but to concentrate on the common ground of Jesus Christ… His model, His message and His mission.
So, how mature are you in the area of harmony. Are you playing your part to the glory of God? Are you seeking to help others play their part so that the mission and message of Jesus can be proclaimed.
The first thing to be checked off is HARMONY, secondly there is
MUTUAL INTEREST
One version says sympathetic, or sympathy. Another says to have concern. The Greek root gives us the word sympathy which means to FELL WITH.
This means when others weep, you weep,; when they rejoice you rejoice;
It connotes the absence of competition, envy or jealousy toward other believers.
I expereince the opposite every time I attend a conference of pastors. Every time, the question is asked, ‘HOW’S YOUR CHURCH GOING’ . While I know it is a common question, but behind it there lies the motive, “Are you doing better or wrse than my church?”
In the family of God there ought not to be this kind of competition. We are family, and should act as such.
So how’s your maturity barometer on this second checkpoint? Can you truly say you enter into the feelings of others? When others hurt, do you hurt? When they enjoy life, do you really enjoy it with them? When God blesses them financially, do you rejoice with them or do you envy them?
The third checkpoint is, AFFECTIONATE FREINDSHIP. The greek word translated here is PHILIOS, which has in mind ‘love of anaffectionate friend.’
Friends give comfort. We find strength in them. They bear fruit that provides nourishment and encouragement. When something troublesome occurs in life, we pick up the phone and call a friend, needing the comfort he/she provides.
True friends also care about us to hold us accountable.
So, are you cultivating friendships? Are you being a friend? As we mature, while the number of our friends may lessen, the depth pf our friendships will continue to deepen.
So, lets quickly review the checklist
Affectionate friendship
Mutualk interest
Harmony
The opposite mutual affection is to be insensitive – the determination to say anything, regardless of the consequences, stating that’s just the way I am.
The opposite is to be indifferent – not caring how what I do affects others.
The opposite is to be overcritical.
Instead…
Peter exhorts the Christians ‘Let all be kind hearted…’
The fourth on the checklist, is KINDHEARTEDNESS
The greek word here can be translated, COMPASSIONATE. It is used in the gosels to describe Jesus in Matt.9:36
Matthew 9:36 New International Version (NIV)
36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Jesus, when he surveyed the crowds was pulled at his heartstrings. He was full of tenderness for them.
Just as these hurting people toucvhed the heart of Jesus, so should hurting people touch our hearts today.
Listen to what Chuck Swindoll writes,
No one who is mature is ever so important that the needs of others no longer matters.
If we are tenderhearted and sensitive, it means we are going to act.
We are going to come alongside and help those in need.
The fifth checkpoint is HUMILITY.
As Paul says in Philippians…
Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Where we must be careful and diligent to apply this is when creative people go to work.
Creative people bring change.
Creative people bring new ideas.
But they can easily be shot down by our stubborn preferences, when they should be allowed to contribute to the body of Christ as they are gifted to do.
An attitude of humility will take us a lot farther in fulfilling our purpose than its opposite.
So far, Peter has written abut how maturity affects how we think and how we feel. In these last three check pints, he tells us how maturity affects what we do and what we say.
In verse 9, h tells us not to return evil for evil. In other words, be willing to FORGIVE
What is a sure sign that I am growing up? When I stop fighting back. When I take the chip off my shoulder. When I stop working on that clever answer so I can punch back with a sarcastic word.
Someone wisely has pointd out,
Whenever the urge to get even comes over us, its important for us to realize that retaliation is a sign of adolecsense while restraint is a sign of maturity.
.Then listen to the next verse, 10"Do you really love life? Do you want to be happy? Then stop saying cruel thing and quit telling lies.(CEV)
In other words, CONTROL YOUR TONGUE
The NIV says, “Whoever would love life and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. Human history confirms the Bible fact that the most powerful weapon known to man is not the A Bomb, it is the tongue.
Here Peter says to refrain your tongue from evil. The idea is to get control of your tongue. Or as James puts it, PUT A BRIDLE ON IT.
Show me a person who has learned to refrain from gossip, to refrain from spreadsing confidential information, and I will show you a person who is growing up to maturity.
Do you really want to love life? Do you want to see good days? Then the Bible says gain better control over your tongue.
So how are you on the checklist so far?
Harmony. Mutual Interest. Friendship and affection. Kindheartedness and compassion. Humility. Forgivenss. A controlled tongue.
I should stop and invite us all to come to the altar. I know right now I am feeling the heavy call of the Spirit for change in my life. But there is one more item on the checklist.
PURITY AND PEACE
Look again at Peters counsel. ‘11 They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it.
Then he tells us
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil
The Lord is watching us and looking out for us. Why? Some believe that the Lord is atching to see when we trip up. I prefer to see it as the Lord watching to see that we are running on and not giving up. He is cheering us on in the race. And when we do trip and fall, He comes to help us up and cheers us on to the end of the race.
That’s why I believe Peter adds The Lord is attentive to our prayers.
The Lord knows we will fail. We will stumble along. The point is not have we fallen, it is will we call unto the Lord and ask Him to help us get back up so we can finish the race He has set for us.
CONCLUSION: So how do you measure up so far? We’re told to GROW UP. We’re told to press on to maturity. But growing up I never easy. We all have areas we struggle. We expereince times of setback. There isn’t an area on the list I know I have been fully successful.
In fact some days I feel discouraged, and wonder What’s the use trying?
That’s when I remember and am encouraged by the verse,
HIS EARS ARE ATTENTIVE TO MY PRAYERS.
RESOURCES:
SermonCentral:
Drake, James Sword N Spirit
Flury, Gerald Harmony
Paul decker,
Books:
Briscoe, Stuart. How to Be a Motivated Christian. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1987.
MacArthur, John, Jr. 1 Peter. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2004.
Swindoll, Charles Hope Again
Warren Wiersbe, the Bible Exposition Commentary
Roger Stronstad, The full Life Bible Commentary
