Don't worry, I don't expect you to have any idea of what a "rascuell" is (pronounced ras-kyooll). You won't find it in any dictionary, and only a very select group of people could give you the inside scoop on this original term. Fortunately, I am one of that select group.
When I was a teen-ager, a group of my "mature" friends and I decided that the little wannabe teen-agers were definitely more immature than us (which was obvious by the way they annoyed us all the time). Based on this "fact," we began calling them "rascuells" (a derivative of rascals), and were often merciless with our use of the term towards them, much to their chagrin. We were soooo mature!
I came across an interesting quote today by Author M. Scott Peck, "Maturity is defined as the ability to delay gratification, scheduling the pain & pleasure of life in such a way to enhance the pleasure by meeting & experiencing the pain first & getting it over with." What jumped out at me (I believe at the Lord's prompting) is the question it posed directly to me: Am I the mature person (now at 48) that I think I am or should be?
Without a doubt, I should be more mature than I was 35, 25 or even 5 years ago, but am I? While just a day ago, I would have assured you that I am, based on Peck's definition, I'm not so sure. I've tried to instill this in my children by challenging them with my own adage: If you play first, the work never gets done; if you do the work first, there's always time to play (not sure if this is a "truth" or not, but I hope it has made a point).
I think that the most obvious area of challenge to my own "maturity" in this area is in finances, because if I really embraced Peck's truism, wouldn't I be saving more, using the credit card less, and laying up my treasure in heaven? (Matthew 6:19-21). Wouldn't I be more satisfied with what I have, and less desirous of what I don't? The simple fact is that, as author Skye Jethani puts it, "formation into the likeness of Christ is not achieved by always getting what we want" (italics mine).
With Father's Day right around the corner, I can't help but wonder what my kids have really learned from me in all my "maturity"? Christian musicians & pastors, Philips, Craig & Dean, recorded a beautiful little piece a few years back entitled, "I Want to Be Just Like You" that powerfully reminds each of us dads & parents of the role God has placed us in "to be just like Him, because [our kids] want to be just like me [us]."
I invite you to accept the challenge with me today to not measure our maturity by years, titles, educations, or salaries, but by our hearts...hearts that are prepared to do what should be done, what needs to be done on a daily basis. Only as we model true maturity by doing the hard work first will we ever enjoy the fruits of delayed gratification...on this earth and in our eternal home. If our kids don't learn this from us, then from whom? Besides, who wants to be a "rascuell" anyway?
