How old is this thought? “If I were a child, I would think like a child.” Okay, maybe it’s been said differently by people like St. Paul, but the idea is the same, and it has been around for at least 2,000 years. I’m an adult, but if I were a teen, I would probably think very much like a modern American teen. Unless.
Unless I had some out-of-the-ordinary circumstances, such as living in a war zone, being captured by brutal people, or suffering from a terrible disease. Thinking like a teen means, under different circumstances, different things. The harsh realities brought about by cruel people and unrelenting natural processes shape minds differently from the soft realities of affluence, peace, and health.
So, now I have to ask myself, “Who is the model for my thinking?” Or, “What is shaping my thoughts?” Whoa! Now, I’m confusing myself. I know I must think a certain way as perceived by others and that my thinking is shaped by circumstances both past and present. Trying to determine how my thinking ranks by level of maturity and experience is difficult. Am I in part just an “older child,” an “older teen,” or a “younger senior”? Am I all at once?
No, I’m going to argue with myself that I am a reasonable adult who thinks in a mature way about important matters. I’m going to defend my way of thinking. But.
But could I be wrong? Now I don’t know what to think.
Unless I had some out-of-the-ordinary circumstances, such as living in a war zone, being captured by brutal people, or suffering from a terrible disease. Thinking like a teen means, under different circumstances, different things. The harsh realities brought about by cruel people and unrelenting natural processes shape minds differently from the soft realities of affluence, peace, and health.
So, now I have to ask myself, “Who is the model for my thinking?” Or, “What is shaping my thoughts?” Whoa! Now, I’m confusing myself. I know I must think a certain way as perceived by others and that my thinking is shaped by circumstances both past and present. Trying to determine how my thinking ranks by level of maturity and experience is difficult. Am I in part just an “older child,” an “older teen,” or a “younger senior”? Am I all at once?
No, I’m going to argue with myself that I am a reasonable adult who thinks in a mature way about important matters. I’m going to defend my way of thinking. But.
But could I be wrong? Now I don’t know what to think.
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