Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Titus 2:2-3 

One of my co-workers had a coffee mug for years that proclaimed “You can’t stop getting older but you can be immature forever.” Unfortunately, this slogan fit him perfectly.

The very fact that Paul had to tell Titus in today’s verses to teach elements of wisdom and maturity to the older men and women is a sign that increased age doesn’t necessary mean increased maturity.

Many years ago one of the students I was teaching told me that Christian maturity was a myth, and to some degree I had to agree with her. But how do you describe the difference that should legitimately exist between someone new in the faith and someone who has deepened in it?

Some would say time. Sure, time gives you a chance to have some experiences which if processed well, might lead to wisdom and becoming an overall deeper Christian…

But this gives way to the popular myth about the relationship between Christian maturity and age. A person may have twenty year’s experience, or one year of experience that they’ve repeated twenty times. Unless personal growth is involved, it’s repetition, not accumulation.

Unfortunately, repetition is a common experience in our Christian institutions—it’s easier to find one year of experience that they’ve repeated twenty times than twenty years of experience.

On the other hand, a lot of Christian maturity can be gained in a relatively short period of time if we mix it with some wisdom, experience and above all, a cooperative spirit that’s willing to work with the Holy Spirit in our lives.

But if we are looking to associate with mature Christians (and more importantly if we want to continue to mature—there is no arrival) then knowing what it is we’re looking for ought to be helpful.

And knowing what Christian maturity is not might even be more important.

So today, let’s just say that age, or number years in the Christian faith, is not synonymous with Christian maturity.