“You are like babies who can drink only milk, not old enough for solid food. And when a person is still living on milk it shows he isn’t very far along in the Christian life, and doesn’t know much about the difference between right and wrong. He is still a baby Christian!” (Hebrews 5:12b-13 TLB).
While the lack of maturity among the original audience for the Biblical book of Hebrews was bad enough, Hebrews 5:12-13 reveals a problem that was deeper than a simple lack of spiritual growth. You see, the people addressed here in Hebrews chapter five were like infants when it came to their spiritual development. Consider what it’s like to be a spiritual infant, especially for those who should possess a greater degree of spiritual maturity…
- Babies have all their decisions made for them. Is that what we want for ourselves when it comes to spiritual matters? Isn’t it better to gain the Biblical understanding necessary to make such decisions along with the advice and counsel of trusted spiritual leaders?
- Babies are often confined for their own protection. We often place babies in a crib or playpen because they lack the knowledge and experience necessary to be safely left alone. But as children grow up and become more responsible, they gain additional freedoms. Isn’t that what we should want for ourselves as men and women of God?
- Other people feed babies whatever they think a child should eat. Do we want others to feed us from whatever spiritual diet they feel is appropriate for us? Wouldn’t it be better to go directly to the Scriptures and verify the “ingredient list” of a teaching or sermon for ourselves?
- Babies must be carefully monitored because they often destroy anything they touch. Shouldn’t we prefer to be known as trustworthy individuals who can handle the things of God in a responsible manner?
- Babies will put anything in their mouths. If we place an object into a baby’s hand, he or she will likely put that object (whatever it is) directly into his or her mouth. This is true even of things that might poison or kill that child. We should certainly seek to avoid that example when it comes to our spiritual beliefs.
- Babies have no control over their bodies. Babies spend much of their time eating, sleeping, and defecating. While the image of a soiled diaper may represent an unpleasant word-picture, it serves to illustrate the graphic cost of spiritual immaturity.
With these illustrations in mind, we can thus say that spiritual immaturity is something we should definitely seek to avoid.