Tenure Vs Maturity

After many years spent doing anything, one gains valuable experience. Experience usually breeds skill and take us to the point where we can do something without even thinking about it sometimes. Experience is important and in the secular world, length of service (tenure) is valuable and comes with all sorts of perks.


However, in the Christian world, tenure or length of service as a Christian can lead to complacency and make us comfortable with our current state.  Save for the fact that we have had the opportunity to make more mistakes and therefore have a bit more experience correcting them,  tenure does not make us better off than a newborn babe. 

Sometimes,  with all those years come some pretty bad habits and the refusal to change.  Some of us have spent a lot of years getting away with certain things and even though it's not consciously done,  we feel like we can continue to get away with those things.

Today,  I realized that,  by not knowing what I know now when I started my walk 17 years ago,  I developed some pretty bad habits that are difficult to let go of.  Whilst in my head I know there are a lot of things that I have not done or are not doing right,  it's hard to make the changes because I have been doing it this way for so long.

I had the opportunity to speak to a friend recently who has been a Christian for almost as long as I have. We were at a social gathering and were having fun catching up on old times when did something in my presence. I remarked casually in joking fashion "girl, you haven't changed one bit". Her response shocked me into silence. She said "no, I haven't and I won't change for anybody." What was just a casual conversation between friends suddenly became a stark realization in my head and I almost couldn't continue our conversation. It was then I realized that length of service sometimes brings us to a point where we simply refuse to change our bad habits. We become so comfortable with ourselves just the way we are that we fail to realize that Christianity is all about change. It is about waking up daily and saying Lord, those things that are still in me that need to be changed, please, continue to work on it. Christianity is about recognizing where we are wrong and making a conscious decision to be different. The only way to be like Christ is to be less like ourselves, and we can't do that by becoming comfortable with where we are.

So this is one disadvantage of tenure.  We sometimes think of Romans 12:1 - 2 as advice for the young Christian to learn to renew their minds,  but I'm learning that the renewal of the mind must be constant.  We never stop growing and because we are always living,  there will always be a necessity for change.  Transformation is not an overnight thing,  it is a process that will never end simply because our sinful nature will never go away.

Tenure cannot be traded for Christian maturity.  Maturity requires action.  Tenure is only an existence.  If you never do anything,  you will still have tenure but you will never mature. 

Today, my encouragement to all of us to remember that Christianity is about change, growth and maturity. Let us not become comfortable with our bad habits or simply make a decision to stay the way we are. Let us remember that no matter how many years we have been Christians, we can still be immature.

May we change, grow and mature together.

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A Mind to Work

Nehemiah 4:6 

(KJV) So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work. 

(NLT) At last the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city, for the people had worked with enthusiasm. 

When Nehemiah embarked on rebuilding the wall around his beloved Jerusalem, he faced serious opposition. You would think that everybody in the city would be happy that their main means of protection was being rebuilt, but some chose to oppose the work. Similarly, In every day life we are faced with people who seem to oppose every thing we do, no matter how important the job is. In biblical times, these people were called naysayers, in our time, we call them haters. These are people who, no matter what you do or how well you do it, will find something negative to say. These are the people who will refuse to help you and never say a word of encouragement to you. Rather, they will do their best to impede your work for no real good reason.

The people of Jerusalem prevailed and got their wall built because they refused to listen to the naysayers. They were constantly under threat of attacked yet they built a wall whilst constantly having to watch their back. They build with swords in one hand and tools in the other. This is a story that we can take home and learn several lessons from.

The first is that no matter what people around you are saying, if God is asking you to do something, then you should do. Keep at it and trust God to give you the strength to complete it.

Secondly, the enemy may be fighting you from every side, stand your guard, take up your sword and fight but don't stop working. Trust God to be your rear guard and keep doing what you need to do. The devil will put many obstacles in your way to prevent you from doing what you need to do, these are simply distractions to take your mind off the work you are doing which is very important. Remember this tactic and keep working.

Thirdly, when we come together, we can accomplish much. Nehemiah faced lots of opposition, but he had enough of the people working with him to make things happen. Had the people listened to the naysayers, the wall would never have been built because Nehemiah could not do it on his own. Each person in the body has a job to do and if we all don't pull together and do our part, nothing will happen.

As you go through today, let us put our hands to the plough and work. Work towards the goals God has set for you. Ignore the haters and naysayers, don't be afraid of the enemy. Fight if you have to, but don't stop doing what God has asked you to do.

Have a blessed day!

Devotions like this one and others can be found in a handy collection in Kindle or paperback format. 

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Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity, Trusting God with your Future,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo