My nephew is learning to play Sorry. The board game has new rules just for him. Each player uses only one piece. Every drawn card can take you out of start (official rules allow just #1 or #2). There are no slides. “Sorry” cards are skipped. And everyone gets home… then all of the players sing “We are the Champions”.

Of course this works perfectly for a nearly four year old, but add a little maturity and this way gets boring. My girls want to play official rules, especially drawing the “Sorry” card so they can send dad back to the start.

The next step in maturity allows you to go back to playing my nephew’s way. Not because that is how you want to play, but because you want to bring someone else joy.

The church matures in the same way. Eventually our greatest joy becomes providing for those near us rather than ourselves.