This is Part Two of a four part series called “When I Became A Man“.

“When I was a child… I thought like a child… When I became a man…”

I gave up thinking of ways to get out of responsibility or of ways to avoid responsibility, and started to take and increase responsibility.

I gave up thinking that everything was someone else’s fault and started accepting responsibility for my faults and the faults of others.

I gave up thinking I didn’t have what it takes and started thinking confidently as a son of the King.

I gave up wondering if I was a man and started believing that I was.

I gave up thinking that the world is a playground and started thinking that the world is a battleground.

I gave up thinking of ways to carry as light a load as possible and started thinking about how I could carry a heavier load.

I gave up thinking of ways to get out of work and started thinking about how to work harder.

I gave up thinking about a job and started thinking about a career.

I gave up thinking only of now and started thinking of the future.

I gave up thinking short term and started thinking long term.

I gave up thinking only of the small and started thinking big picture.

I gave up thinking passively and started thinking aggressively.

I gave up thinking about temporary rewards and started thinking about eternal rewards.

I gave up thinking only about myself and started thinking about others.

I gave up thinking of myself as a horny pervert and started thinking of myself as the glory of God.

I gave up thinking of women as body parts and started thinking of them as people.

I gave up thinking of women as sex objects and started thinking of them as someone’s sister, mother, daughter, or wife.

I gave up thinking of what I could get from women and started thinking about what I could give women.

I gave up thinking thinking of women as one of the guys and started thinking of women as queens.

I gave up thinking of women as less valuable than men and started thinking of women as equally valuable.

I gave up thinking arrogantly and started thinking humbly.

I gave up thinking like a “know it all” and started thinking like a disciple.

I gave up thinking vaguely about doctrine and theology and started thinking specifically about what I believe.

“Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.” 1 Cor 14:20

“When I was a child… I thought like a child… When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.” 1 Cor 13:11

(Image Credit: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland)