Stop “Adulting” and Start Finding Joy

I’ll come right out and get myself in trouble: I simply cannot stand the word “adulting.” Or, more accurately, I cannot stand what it often represents.

We live in a time when people post on social media and have conversations about “adulting.” They talk about how they had to pay bills with their savings, so “I guess I’m adulting.” They purchase something on sale and brag about their savings because they are “adulting.” They joke about how they actually fixed something themselves because they decided to start “adulting.”

It’s actually sad.

The reason is simple: we don’t want to grow up.

But we should want to grow up. We should want to mature. We should want the responsibility that comes with being an adult, a spouse, a parent, an employee, and so on. And it does not make us something special just because we start doing those “adult” things.

As people of God, we should see each phase of life as a gift, not as some kind of torture. The phrase is out of context, but the principle is needed by a lot of people in our culture, and that is that when we become men (or women), we should put away childish things (1 Corinthians 13:11). Too many of us want to hold on to those childish things instead of putting them away and growing up!

Beyond that, though, it is not torture to face adulthood. It should be seen as both a challenge and a joy. Bearing responsibility is a good thing and something that can be done to the glory of God.

That doesn’t mean it is always fun. When you’ve saved up for a nice vacation, but then the car breaks down and will wipe out those savings; that’s not fun. When your marriage hits its first rocky period and you don’t like each other all that much for a time; that’s not fun. When tax season rolls around; that’s not fun.

But it is a joy. Huh? How is that possible? It is a joy because you have new opportunities to support your family. You are growing and maturing. You are doing harder things, and working through those things gives you more opportunities to walk through them with the Lord. And, when you have come out on the other side, you are stronger, not because you have “adulted,” but because you have been faithful to Him.

Let’s quit “adulting.” Let’s simply grow up. Put away childish things and be grateful for the season of life you find yourself in now.

After all, do you really want to be a child forever?

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AUTHOR: Adam Faughn