…until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.
(Eph. 4:13)

I’m fed up with the phrase, “Boys will be boys.” That phrase has been used to justify or shrug off immature and inappropriate behavior, in general, and especially towards women.

Christian men must denounce this phrase and the nod, wink, and smirk that so often goes along with it. Christian men must defend their wives, our daughters, and all other women in our society.

In today’s scripture, Paul says that we are called to “maturity, to the full measure of the stature of Christ.”  There’s no way we can reconcile “boys will be boys” with growing into “maturity” or into the “full stature of Christ.”

Speaking of Jesus.  Given how He treated people, given His message on how we must care for each other, we must acknowledge that Jesus would condemn any child of God taking advantage of, exploiting, or abusing any other child of God.

Scripture tells us that we’re the Body of Christ.  One implication of our being His Body is that we must learn how to honor and respect every other part, every other person, in the Body.  When we hurt, abuse, or debase one part of the Body, we are hurting Jesus.

If you’re a Christian man, I hope and encourage you to renounce the phrase and to treat everyone with respect.  If you’re Dad, I encourage you to instruct your sons on how to treat women and model to your daughters how they should be treated.  If you’re a husband, I encourage you to treat your wife with honor and respect—she is God’s best gift to you after Jesus.

If we’re going to grow into the “full stature of Christ,” we will need to renounce such lame excuses as “boys will be boys,” and we will also need to denounce any and all behavior that uses or abuses any other child of God.

Reflection Questions:

1. What does going to grow into the “full stature of Christ” mean to you?

2. Maturity doesn’t come magically when we hit a certain age. Maturity comes through pain and mistakes and through learning from our immature moments.  What has helped you to mature as a human being and as a Christian?

3. The phrase “boys will be boys” makes sense if the boys are 10 years old. The phrase doesn’t make sense when men of 20, 30, or older are acting like boys.  What would help our culture to grow beyond our acceptance of the phrase “boys will be boys”?