Maturity - What's the deal?

OK... here goes my first rant... What's the deal with people who claim to be 'mature' in the faith and yet act like spoiled children who didn't get all the presents they wanted for their 4th birthday? I don't get it. So here's my thing-we have to both spawn and measure maturity in the natural. When you are old enough (chronologically), you start going to school, getting homework, and becoming responsible. If you don't do the right thing, you are corrected.

BUT THERE ARE MEASURABLES!!

Where's the measurable for being mature spiritually!?

If you met someone, let's say online, you don't have their look, tone of voice, or any other physical feature to give you a clue to their age or maturity, how would you know how mature they were? I think there are some clues:

1. Level of Understanding - How do they see a given situation and all the variables in play? Are they mature enough to see more than just how it affects them? Or is their focus only self-centered?

2. Level of Knowledge - How smart are they? Not just book smart (although that is a factor because it relates to how much they have studied and learned), but overall intelligence.

3. Level of Experience - How much do they REALLY know about what they are talking about? Does this person seem to genuinely know what they are talking about because they have been there or are they just talking 'hypothetically'?


I think these are some pretty good rules of thumb. I'm not saying that they are all of the rules, but it's a start. So how do we measure up if we use these same rules on our spiritual maturity? How much understanding, knowledge, and experience do we have when it comes to the Bible, theology, doctrine, hands on ministry, etc? Are we just fooling ourselves in thinking that we are High School or College Grads and we really haven't even made it out of Middle School yet?

Just a thought....