Maturity and Purity

Reading through I Samuel recently, I did what I could to see what the text said about David's character. As he fled from Saul, David received two opportunities to exact revenge on this man who'd been seeking his life. I Samuel 24 recounts one such instance, when David's men encouraged him to kill Saul because the Lord had delivered him into his hand! Yet, David stayed his hand (as he did in chapter 26). His heart struck him, and so he refused to harm the Lord's anointed.

When I read this, I was astonished by David's maturity. Not only did he avoid revenge, but he also stepped out of his hiding place in the cave and explained himself to Saul. He pled for peace with the king, seeking a renewed relationship with all his heart (and with the greatest eloquence!).

I was Skype-chatting recently with my much-respected friend Will, and I told him of my observation. He was surprised that I saw maturity as David's shining characteristic, because he reads the same story and sees an example of purity. Furthermore, he found it almost laughable for a Christian to pursue maturity as a goal in and of itself. Purity of heart, says Will, is what the Lord wants us to seek.

I agree, but not wholly. Yes, my preoccupation with maturity (a result of conversations with a different friend) clouded my reading of I Samuel such that I emphasized a secondary point as primary. Yes, David's purity of heart is praised throughout Scripture. Even after his life-altering sins with Bathsheba and Uriah, he was open to the Lord's purification. Still, purity without maturity is childish and unlikely to earn the following of four hundred men. Since I do not believe maturity can be had by accident, I believe it is a quality to be pursued.

So what do I mean by "maturity?" Will pointed out that the Romance languages (French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese, mostly) tend to use the same words for "mature" and "ripe." Even German uses "reif" for both English words. If a man matures the same as a banana, maturity can only be had with time and is thus not worth pursuit.

But, my heart is fluent in a Germanic language that has too many words for its own good, and so I seek to pinpoint the lexical senses of English words that are superficially synonymous. (This also has something to do with my right-brained philosophical bent, but that's another topic.)

A famous prayer goes thus:

God, grant me the serenity

To accept the things I cannot change;

Courage to change the things I can;

And wisdom to know the difference.

Campy, perhaps, but it still speaks to the reservation and wisdom implicit in maturity. Imagine a scene in which you, dear reader, are confessing your darkest sins to a trusted friend. A terribly immature person won't be much help, and might even be so naïve as to be shocked by your sin. A mature confessor, on the other hand, will listen to you with the greatest care (serenity), evaluate your confession in a pool of experience (wisdom), and respond with what you need to hear (courage). You and I wouldn't likely trust this person if he/she lacked purity, but maturity hardly seems unimportant.

I also think of maturity in terms of arguments. I know people with whom I dare not disagree because, with them, every argument will become a fight. These are likely insecure people who have trouble separating opinions from the people who hold them, so if you attack their opinions, you attack them. Other people I am happy to disagree with on just about every issue because with them, argument is an exercise in exploring the issues, not in defeating the opponents. These are more mature people who understand that their opinions and preferences do not define them as valuable persons. This maturity is not accidental; it is achieved.

God shows me every day how immature I am. I write this not from my vast wealth of experience, but out of my deep longing (my Geisteskrankenheit, my soul-sickness) to enjoy and minister in the greatest maturity that God has for me. I write here not to resolve issues, but to provoke consideration. Interested? Let me make us some coffee.