Did you know the word “adolescence” didn’t exist until 1904 when psychologist G. Stanley Hall coined it to describe a bridge between childhood and adulthood? We typically think of it as encompassing the teen years, but that bridge keeps growing. Many now stretch adolescence all the way into their late twenties, delaying responsibility and commitment long past when previous generations did. It’s like they are Peter Pan: they never grow up.

Apostle Paul had no patience for delayed maturity. He tells us in Titus 2, “Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.” (vv6-8).

Culture says to put off adulthood as long as you can, but Scripture calls us to embrace godliness, and that means embracing maturity. Young believers around us should reject society’s push for perpetual adolescence, and we, as parents and mentors, should lovingly challenge them to step up and grow up and give them the space and tools to do so.

Maturity isn’t a birthday. It’s a mindset, available today, regardless of what culture calls “grown up.”

Change begins in you!