Becoming an Adult

In the beginning, God gave authority to Adam. “Whatever the man called each living creature that was its name” (Genesis 2:19). When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit, sin entered into mankind and authority over the world was now under Satan’s control. The perfect life Jesus lived and His finished work on the cross, restored authority back to God. God then turned all authority over to Jesus. 

Adults think things through for themselves. Adults know what they believe. Adults are mature. They know who they are. They like who they are. They are who they are: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect.” (1 Corinthians 15:10). They do not need permission from some other person how to think, feel, or act. They do not depend on the approval of others. Adults understand what they do, may affect other people. They take ownership of their choices.  Adults are aware of the consequences of their actions. Adults understand they are responsible for submitting to God’s authority and assume accountability when they fail.

Becoming an adult is the process of moving out from a “one-up” or “one-down” perspective and into an equal standing to other adults. Coming out from the un-even and then entering into an equal standing as an adult is the fourth step of the foundational growth, developmental process. Being an adult is being able to exercise the gifts, responsibilities and authority that God has given to each of us.

One-up refers to people who believe they are superior and above other people. They are controlling and domineering people, often telling others what they “should” do. They assume the parent role and disapprove of other people’s opinions or choices. They are legalistic and bound to rules, seeing the world as black and white, right or wrong. They are self-righteous and quick to judge. Judgmental people cannot identify with the sinner. They act like they are perfect and “above” sin. The confession of the sinner puts one in a humble position under God, instead of a proud and arrogant position with people. Avoid people who try to take away your freedom and who want to parent you.

One-down refers to people who believe they are inferior and put others above themselves. They see themselves as unequal because they give away their power. They look for others to make decisions for them. They are people pleasers who need the acceptance and approval of those they idealize in order to feel ok. They might ask “may I say something?” when it is unnecessary to ask permission to speak. The opinion of an “authority” or parent figure carries far too much weight and has taken the role of judge, jury, or parent, for the one-down. This is relating from a child’s position of being under a person, not under God. Paul talked about getting out from under the “approval of men” trap: “We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:4). Jesus implies that we are doing something wrong if everyone likes us: “Woe to you when all men speak well of you” (Luke 6:26).

Becoming an adult is assuming the authority position in life, an important aspect of reflecting the image of God. Work on assuming adulthood so you can be an authority. Then, go out and give it to others. Withholding authority stunts people’s growth and blocks achievements. People reach their full potential when their authority is matched to their increased responsibility.

Believe it, think it, and say it:

To withstand storms in life, we need to speak to them in the name of Jesus because it is part of a spiritual battle for your soul. We take authority over them by speaking promises and principles from the Word of God. Christ strengthens us because of the life He lived and His finished work on the cross. His sacrifice gave us all authority in heaven and earth that we can proclaim in the name of Jesus, Amen.