Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 3
The speaker urges the group to choose models who “respond well under stress and pressure,” not those who merely “look on the outside like the person we’d like to be”; what kinds of people do Christians today tend to admire, and what does that reveal about what we actually believe maturity looks like?
Another way to ask: Who do Christians today usually admire, and why? What does that show about what we think real maturity looks like?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Based on the speaker’s contrast, Christians today often admire people for outward markers—success, appearance, status, or “having it together”—instead of admiring the quieter maturity of responding well under pressure. That reveals we may believe maturity is mainly about image and achievement rather than character and self-control.
- He notes common comparisons are “mundane”: “I don’t make as much money…My house doesn’t look as nice…I weigh less.”
- He says those are “not the helpful areas” for comparison.
- Instead: “look for the people who respond well to stress and pressure, and we should want to be like those.”
- He warns against selecting people who “look on the outside like the person we’d like to be like.”
- He links this to where we are heading: “what’s always in our mind…is what we’re going to end up being like.”