GraceTrax

A RECENT ARTICLE entitled Addicted to Adultescence read,

Meet Matt Swann. Matt is a 27-year-old American male who took six and a half years to graduate from college with a degree in cognitive science, and is just getting started figuring out what he wants to do with his life. Matt was asked if he was looking forward to marriage, family, and owning a home. His answer? "I don't ever want a lawn. I do not want to be a parent. I mean ... why would I? There's so much fun to be had while you're young."

Though Matt was being shockingly honest, his response is very revealing. Young people these days are resisting adulthood. They bounce around from job to job and relationship to relationship, never quite finding a steady place of growth. If they muster up the courage to move out of their parents’ house, they often return shortly. In fact, most young people resemble the destructive warm water current El Nino, cycling back around every few years to crash with Mom and Dad again.

What is the solution to extended adolescence? The apostle Paul gives us the answer in 2 Timothy 2:2: “Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”

His answer includes three prescriptions for young men:

1. Flee youthful lusts: Paul instructs Timothy that he must flee those temptations and lusts specifically enticing to young people. Instead of running headlong after the passions that spring from a youthful temperament, Paul instructs us that we should be sprinting away from them. When he encounters youthful lusts, the saint of God has two choices: either flee or fall.

2. Pursue godliness: Paul instructs Timothy to “pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace.” The word “pursue” does not simply mean to follow after, but is very strong and denotes striving after. Timothy is not simply running blindly from a childish disposition; he is running toward a goal. Pursuing is just as important as fleeing. Timothy is to pursue these four goals:

• Righteousness – The young man’s dash should culminate in conduct that glorifies God.
• Faith – Fickleness and unreliability aptly describe a youthful mindset; young men should pursue faithfulness, fidelity, trustworthiness and stability in all areas of life. 
• Love – The weeds of harshness and criticism flourish in the soil of immaturity, and thus the godly young man is continually to sow seeds of love.
• Peace – Since conflict comes naturally, the young man of God is to pursue peace with others. Self-assertion should be abandoned in favor of deference and humility, which promote harmony.

3. Pursue Fellowship: Finally, Timothy is to join himself in fellowship with “those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” He is not only to flee from youthful lusts, but also those who engage in them. There is a safeguard in engaging in the pursuit of godliness with other believers as Proverbs 27:17 reads, “Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”

¹ Written by Al Mohler, http://www.albertmohler.com/2005/06/28/extended-male-adolescence-the-british-version/. Accessed on 11-14-2011.