June 13 - Those Who Are Mature

 Read today’s texts first: 1 Kings 13,14; 2 Chronicles 12; Philippians 3

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

The world thinks of maturity as realizing our
independence and self-sufficiency.
The opposite is true in God’s Kingdom. 

The mark of maturity is humility. Younger, or older but immature, leaders tend to overcompensate for their insecurities.  Like Rehoboam and Jeroboam, they proudly assert themselves without regard or respect for their followers. We see the same negative traits in the false teachers Paul exposes in his letter to the Philippians (3:2,18-20). But the example of Paul in chapter 3 (4-17), and, better yet, the example of Jesus in chapter 2 (1-11), shows us how mature leaders will model genuine humility. The more we mature, the more humble dependence on God will define our life and our leadership.

Unfortunately, an immature, self-centered leader will hurt more than themselves. We can see how Jeroboam brought his entire kingdom, the ten northern tribes of Israel, under oppression because of his rash decision to create idols: And He will give Israel up because of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit (14:16).

The same happened to Judah under Rehoboam: This is what the Lord says, “You have abandoned me; therefore, I now abandon you to Shishak”. The one difference was repentance. Rehoboam and his leaders realized their mistakes: The leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is just.” When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, this word of the Lord came to Shemaiah: “Since they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them but will soon give them deliverance.” (12:6,7).

The world thinks of maturity as realizing our independence and self-sufficiency. The opposite is true in God’s Kingdom. Real maturity isn’t evident until there is complete dependence on God and an unwavering reliance on God’s sufficiency. “Lord, I have finally learned how insufficient I am on my own. As an official senior citizen, I may be finally growing up!”