Maturity = Control

Prov.21:²³ (GN) “If you want to stay out of trouble, be careful what you say.”

The mark of maturity is controlled response. Maturity is not reacting immediately to what people say, but giving a controlled response. Imagine someone has been set up at his office and everyone is waiting for him to explode when he finds out. And even after he discovers, he still does not retaliate; instead he controls his response. At the end of the day his colleagues will respect him more. How easily you get offended is determined by your maturity. The more immature you are, the more easily offended you become. The person insulting you owns his or her mouth so he or she can do anything they choose with it. This was what my grandmother told us consistently. Now, many years later, that advice has helped me in my walk with God and work for God.

Everybody will stand before God one day to give account for everything they say. You cannot control your mouth and other people’s mouths at the same time. People will say what they want to say –it is their business. Understanding this will help you not to major on minors. If you major on minors, you will not be able to major on majors because you have a limited amount of time. Jesus refused to retaliate even when He was brought before Pilate. The chief priest made all sorts of accusations but Jesus said nothing. When Pilate tried to get Him to react, “Are you the King of Jews?” Jesus said, “You said it with your own mouth!” Maybe my grandmother learnt it from Jesus.

The story is told of a parrot; its owners were going on vacation and dropped it with a lady. They told her to feed the parrot in a timely manner otherwise it would tactically abuse her. She did as instructed, but one day she forgot. And true to it, the parrot began to abuse her. “Did you hear the neighbour say your head is big?” When she could not take it anymore, she put the parrot in the freezer for fifteen minutes. When she brought it out, the parrot said,  “The turkey says you have a big stomach.” Back to the freezer it went for another twenty minutes. When it came out, the parrot said, “Everybody says you are such a good person, the most beautiful woman ever”. “If you want to stay out of trouble, be careful what you say.”

Prayer: Holy Spirit, help me attain maturity even with my speech, in Jesus Name. Amen!