Understanding the Early Years of Adulthood - Part One

Most people believe that you just have to go through this “mistake zone,” (approximately ages 17 to 27) and you’ll learn the hard way. Of course, most young adults “box themselves in” by refusing to hear any advice from godly people who care. So, they are condemned to “learn the hard way.”

Honestly, adult life is a big enough adjustment, and there’s no sense in carrying baggage that you don’t have to carry. Over the next several posts I’ll examine each of the major decisions you’ll face in the upcoming years and try to grasp just what you’re up against.

Here are two BIG ONES:

College—This is probably your first major decision to conquer. Which one? What kind? Where? The college you choose will most likely lead to the person you marry, the career field you pursue, and the friends you keep. This will determine where you live, what you will do with the rest of your life, who you become like, and whose children you have. This will determine who your grandkids will be and who their kids will be…and so on. Whoa…big stuff. This is definitely a major decision that you want to get right!

Dating—What kind of person will you date? If “looks” are your primary criteria, you’re headed for a world of misery. (Although, I wouldn’t go so far as to tell you to marry someone ugly.) Believe me, when you meet God’s match for you, you’ll think this is the best looking person on the planet. That’s an easy one for God.

What guidelines will you follow in your dating life? Who will you give an account to? If you are “out from under” your parents, you need to give account to your pastor. How will you keep from ruining your testimony? Will your dating life reflect Christ and help you become a better Christian? These questions will formulate the basis for choosing a spouse, a life’s mate. This is huge!

Will you date a non-Christian? If God is real and your faith is real, then your family must be founded upon eternal values. God’s Word is the blueprint for the family and the glue that holds it together. If you don’t at least have true faith in common, you’re headed for sure disaster. God says in Amos 3:3, “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” and 2 Corinthians 6:14 says, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” By the way, don’t fall for the trap that you can date this person and win him to Christ. Win him to Christ, see him discipled to faithfulness—then date him. Very few people succeed with dating as an outreach. It’s never right to do wrong to do right.