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As we close out this year of 2022, it might be helpful if we measured our faith to see how mature it is. So, I want to suggest some biblical ways you can measure your maturity and find out if you’re growing up in Christ as you’d like to be.
Our bodies mature on us, whether we like it or not, but spiritual maturity is not something that just happens. We have to be intentional about growing more mature spiritually. So, if we could measure spiritual maturity, how would you measure up?
We sometimes say of children “he’s big for his age,” meaning his physical statue is larger than most boys his age. Could anyone say that about your spiritual statue? Are you big for your spiritual age? Or is your growth stunted?
When we recognize that our child is not as mature as he or she should be in some area, we go to a specialist and try to figure out why our child is smaller than she should be, or slower, or less active. Don’t you think we should be equally sensitive to our own spiritual maturity, and recognize areas where we need to “grow up”?
One way to find out how much you’ve grown in your faith walk is to pay attention to what comes out of your mouth—to measure your words. The book of Proverbs has lots of good advice about controlling our tongues, and in chapter 17 it gives us a clear measure of our maturity:
The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding is even-tempered. Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues (17:27-28).
Measure your maturity by whether or not you are restrained in what you say. That simply means you think before you speak; you ask yourself, “How would I feel if someone said that to me?” You consider whether you need to say it or not. You remember Ephesians 4:29, which says to let nothing unwholesome come out of your mouth, and therefore you use words with restraint.
This is one of the most important measures of maturity, because until we learn to control our tongues, we remain in that immature stage, we’re not where we should be, and we need to start growing up. Make it a matter of prayer and ask God to help you control your tongue.