I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? (1 Corinthians 3:2-3)
Do you love being around charming people? Have you ever thought about the definition of charming? It really has two different angles to it. The first definition is the expression of genuine pleasure or delight. The other is to deceive and pretend pleasure or delight. In either case the behavior is the same; the motive is quite different. When people are deceptively charming, they are usually trying to get something from the other person.
Children are masters of charm when they are trying to get something from their parents. We have all used charm to our advantage at some point in our lives to get what we want. What happened when you didn’t get what you wanted? Were you still as charming, or did you yell or even go off and pout? Many of us pout or give the other person the silent treatment, even as adults. When a child yells and cries we call it a tantrum. What do you call it when an adult does the yelling? It’s still a tantrum.
Why in the world do we act so childishly as adults? We’re supposed to be mature and beyond that kind of behavior …or are we? One reason that we yell or pout is because it worked for us as a child and it still works now. The other reason is that anger and wrath are still a part of our sinful nature.
In the Corinthians verses above Paul asks the question, “Are you not acting like mere men”? The word “mere” can be translated as unchanged or unsaved. Paul is saying here that when we act out of our sinful nature, we are acting like people who are not saved by Jesus Christ. We are worldly versus being spiritual. We can see examples of worldly behavior all around us. Paul tells us that when we are experiencing jealousy, arguments, or strife that we are in our flesh and not controlled by the Holy Spirit.
How do we go from being childish to spiritually mature? We need to go to God and confess our childish behavior and then get fed. As a baby we needed milk, but as adults we are ready for solid food. It’s time to grow up and stop doing what our flesh wants. God gives us what we need to grow, the Spirit and His Word. That’s the diet we need to be healthy and strong spiritually.
Start feeding on the solid food of the Word of God. Have you had your solid food today? You need good nourishment to be strong. Take a moment right now to read your Bible and set aside your childish ways.