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Maturity 5 - Self-Awareness and Critique ...

Friday, Oct 2, 2009. Maturity has to do with self awareness. A mature man or woman will be aware of his or her own strength and weaknesses.

Some people are open to critique or review. They like it when others search for points in their life where they can improve things. They are nearly longing for some pros and cons, for some ideas about what they could do better. Other people hate it if others start to criticise them. They do not want to listen to any negative things, not even to suggestions to improve. It is just too much to them.

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A mature person will be able to handle criticism. That is the real test of maturity. How do you deal with others who tell you that you are wrong? How do you deal with things in your life which do not work well?

The ability to criticise oneself is a key point to become a Christian. Jesus was crucified - and his death and resurrection is declared to be the central event of world history by the apostles and by the evangelists in the Bible. “He died for our sins” is a key sentence of Christianity. To understand it you need to be able to see where you are wrong. The concept of “sin” is talking about being lost, about being away from the centre, being on a wrong path. Without the ability to see you own failures, even your own complete failure in terms of being “good”, you will not be able to value the cross. You might even not being able to understand its purpose and meaning at all.

Some people think that you need to be strong, efficient, brilliant all the time. It is the lie of our modern world. But the story of Jesus is speaking another language. The cross of Jesus is a sign of strength in weakness, of weakness which gives up everything - what strength do you need to be that weak! The cross is speaking of complete failure, of death, of the end of all dreams and all plans. The cross mirrors our own failure.

If we speak about maturity, we need to speak about failure as well. Are you mature enough to be able to see and to admit that you failed things? Are you strong enough to admit failure? Are you strong enough to admit complete failure - such that you need a saviour? I am not speaking about some quick or easy words, but about some sincere insight into reality.

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In discussions about Christian faith there are two lines of arguments. One line tries to see the positive components in everything. My own character is a little bit like that - I can work our the positive side of nearly every experience. Then there is the other side, who always finds the things which are wrong. Whatever they touch, they see the negative part. Often these two basic lines are in conflict and people strongly oppose each other. “Admit your failure!” - “You have to see the positive things, it is not really a failure, many things are good.” - “But they are not as good as God, they fall behind strongly. They just lack the real truth, the real dedication.” - “But God loves everyone, see his grace!” - “God is just, he is pure, he hates sin!” … It is like voices working out their fight!

Maturity can realise the truth in the different parts of the story, and it can balance them. We are lost without God. But he loves us. We are not good, he is good. But his goal and work is a work of reconciliation. He takes us into his family. He puts us into a framework where we can grow and develop. ... more texts

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