Why you shouldn’t “act your age”

Typically when we use the phrase, “act your age,” it’s actually a passive-aggressive way of telling someone that their behavior is immature. And it might be. But what a 25 year old is like in my generation isn’t the same as someone who was 25 one or two generations ago. Our world, economy, and technology has changed us, and it’s both good and bad.

On one end of the spectrum, children are innocent. Unlike adults, they don’t live with the doubt that their parents won’t take care of them. At least, they shouldn’t have to. Jesus even tells us to have childlike faith, a faith that knows our Father is good and will only give us good things. He’s always going to take care of us.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are many adults of different ages who behave like adolescents. I have a few friends who are the same age that I am who behave as if they were a few years younger. There’s a lack of stability and maturity among people who should be adults. It’s far from a bad thing to actually act older than you are in this day and age.

It does all of us a disservice to tell others to act their age when what is considered “age appropriate” is constantly changing. Yes, we should be responsible and dependable people, but that doesn’t mean we should be bound by your arbitrary expectations. It’s God’s Word and God’s Spirit that will bring real maturity.