Immaturity

When a child comes out of the womb they have no knowledge of what is acceptable in culture. They grow up being corrected and learning what's acceptable and right. They learn to keep their elbows off the table, what words not to use, and essentially what's appropriate in certain circumstances.
But, then we come to the teenage boy. He was taught good penmanship but now it's become sloppy. He was taught to have respect for elders, but now he no longer respects them, and he now no longer knows how to dress...
In the homeschool movement, specifically, it seems the young man is very proud. He's always been catered to by his mother and given lots of love from their parents, in general. He's lived an easy life and really hasn't had to make his own way in the world. And if there's one thing I've learned about proud men it's that they hate to listen to others.
Young men are fighters. They want to fight anything and everything they have a chance to fight against. Being a fighter is definitely a good thing, but the problem is that these young men are cutting off their brother's ears and chopping at their parents. Their immature humor and knowing how far to go with pranks and such is pretty standard. This combined with pride is a prime example of why they're so immature.
Then there are the other things that contribute to boy's lack of maturity. Of course there's pride on both sides. There's also an emphasis on not growing up. You want to be cool, so you don't want to work. You want to buy the best stuff and look good in the eyes of others. Basically the way of the fool is right in his own eyes and so he doesn't see that he needs to learn and act as a grave man.
Many men have trouble getting into deep conversations. It feels uncomfortable to talk about anything besides the weather and what the local sports teams. Why do we have to be so immature? Is there a reason for this? Possibly men's brains not fully maturing till they're 25, but that's kind of a lame excuse...
In Titus, the young men are exhorted to be sober minded. If there's one word to describe what most young men are not, in America, it would be the word sober minded. So how do we become more mature? It's kind of hard for me to answer that since I'm not the most mature person, but I have a couple thoughts.
Number one, they need to listen to older men. And, by listening I don't mean listening in the ordinary definition of the word. I mean taking what you hear and actually applying it in your life. These men older then you have been through a lot more and sure, maybe some of their advice is misleading but I think there can always be things you can learn.
The second reason I find to be intriguing is the thought that sometimes we focus on vision too much. Most men today have no vision so they don't go anywhere. And, we see that lack of vision. But, for young men who have been taught by those around them a great vision. Every time you talk to them it sounds like they're going to do great things. They have their vision written for the next 2,000 years. Yet, here they are struggling to get married, get off the couch, etc. Sometimes it seems we don't emphasis enough, in some of the circles I run in, the need for application. A vision is definitely very important and there isn't enough of it normally. But, when a young man is swamped with vision that is crippling his ability to grow now then it's a negative effect. So, we do need to focus on our lives here and now.
It's so easy to put things off till tomorrow that should be done today. And, that's how growing up and maturing works. If you're constantly putting it off to play your video games and make crude jokes then it will never happen. Your maturating has to happen today. And, I guess that's the point of all this. You need to make a change in your life to not be one of the 70% of 30 year old men that are not grown up.