What does it mean to speak, think, and reason like a child?

Children live in the present. They are selfish and impulsive, and they act without considering future ramifications. They have no concept of the burden of obligation, nor responsibility, nor making sacrifices for those they love.

Adults, on the other hand, should not only consider the here and now, but also look to the future. They should act selflessly and deliberately while considering the future ramifications of their decisions. They should very intimately know what it is like to carry the burden of responsibility for themselves and for others, and they should embrace the idea of sacrificially loving those under their care. Adults should be able to process information, weigh their options, and value end results more than immediate and temporal gratification.

There is a cultural cancer that has infected the American Church and is spreading like wildfire. This cancer is called acute childish waystoma and needs to be surgically removed as quickly as possible if we are to see the survival of the Church in our culture.

Now, I believe Christ’s promise that the gates of Hell will not prevail against his Church, and that his enemies will be placed under his feet, which means that this cancer will eventually be removed from the face of the earth. The point, however, is that this infection of childish thinking has prevented men from acting responsibly and maturely. It has caused grown men to never leave their mother’s basements, forever lost in a fake world of false realities, perpetually seeking one temporal and fleeting pleasure after another.

Adults should be able to process information, weigh their options, and value end results more than immediate and temporal gratification.

Children have few responsibilities, while men have a great number of responsibilities. Postponing the giving up of childish ways also allows men to prolong life absent from obligation.

The refusal to put away childish things has severely stunted spiritual maturity in untold numbers of men within the Church. It saddens me to see a constant barrage of Christian men who either greatly struggle or flatly refuse to put this childish mindset to death and adopt a biblically masculine mindset.

Not only has this trend stagnated spiritual growth in our families and in our children, but also the effectiveness of Christ’s Bride in our increasingly ungodly culture. Far too many Christian men have grown incredibly comfortable allowing the culture to literally go to Hell while they take comfort in their bunkers of ease and irresponsibility.

Childish thinking has resulted in laziness and cowardice, as well as far too much time reveling in fleeting moments of entertainment, instead of participating in long-lasting tilling of the earth. Rather than men actively practicing the dominion mandate, they are actively attempting to take dominion over their golf game, or the latest PlayStation game, or gains at the local crossfit gym.

Far too many Christian men have grown incredibly comfortable allowing the culture to literally go to Hell while they take comfort in their bunkers of ease and irresponsibility.

I am not at all saying that we are not allowed to ever play, rest, or exercise. In fact, God has given us a day of rest, and we even find our Sabbath in Christ himself. I would even argue that we as men should be doing all we can to preserve our bodies for as long as we can, for the sake of our families.

But I am saying that there should be a hierarchy of priorities that come before we rest. If placed on a scale, our work should far outweigh our play. God, work, and our families should all take precedence over play. If at any point childish ways replace any of these, you have a problem. You have a cancer growing inside of your heart, and you need to cut it out immediately.

Far too many times I have seen weekly golf and softball games, or an obsessive love of virtual fantasy, placed on the mantle of responsibilities. Sadly, I have oftentimes seen men who can barely provide for their families, or maybe even depend on their wives to do so, spend large portions of their income on childish things like tobacco, drugs, and alcohol, or even worse, on pornography and gambling. It breaks my heart to see grown men, who have wives and children, waste countless hours on the false reality of video games. If you are one of these men, to you I say, grow up by giving up these childish ways!

And just to be clear, I am not saying that we as men cannot play golf, softball, or video games, nor drink beer and whiskey, nor smoke cigars. None of these things are inherently evil and should all be enjoyed to the glory of God. But I am saying that if any of these things, or anything like them, take antecedence over your role as head of your home, they are idols and need to be put to death.

There should be a hierarchy of priorities that come before we rest. If placed on a scale, our work should far outweigh our play. God, work, and our families should all take precedence over play.

Just as Gideon tore down his father’s Asherah pole, so should we tear down these idols and rebuild them in a way that glorifies God. Worship does not just occur corporately during a Sunday church service, but occurs daily in everything that we do. If our priorities do not reflect God’s will and intentions for how we should live our lives, then we are daily participating in false worship of manmade gods.

If at any point any of your God-ordained duties of priest, prophet, provider, or protector is replaced with prepubescent player, you have a serious problem, and you must give up your childish ways and act like a man. Priests represent their people before God through prayer. Prophets represent God before their people through the reading of his Word. Providers make sure the needs of their people are met. Protectors ensure the safety and well-being of their people.

Prepubescent players play. All the time. They only represent themselves before God. The god they actively represent is one of comfort. Their wives or parents are the providers, and the only thing they sacrificially protect is the fattening pleasure of continued ease and complacency.

C.S. Lewis once said: “When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.” Putting away childish things does not mean the end of all fun and recreation in your life, but it does mean putting to death the fear of responsibility and embracing the burden of obligation.