Adult Faith Development Pt 2

Discussed in the previous post was the two different types of growth, horizontal: growing ins skill, knowledge, and facts. In this growth we become smarter, but not necessarily more mature as a Christian. Just because we have memorized the book of John does not mean that we are now living the truths found therein.

Vertical growth is when we become more aware of God; His working in our life and world. We awaken to God moving in areas of life that we were previously blinded to. Everyone can see the blessing and working of God in finding a $20 bill on the ground, it does not take much to see blessing there, but when you can see God in the face of poverty, in the sick, the least of these, then you are moving up in your awareness of God's presence that is saturating the world.

We also move up in our capacity of love. As we start to awaken to God's presence and working in the world around us, it becomes more natural to love those we encounter, even those that irritate us or are outright hostile to us. Vertical growth means that we are becoming more spiritually mature whereas horizontal growth is merely getting more intelligent.

How does this work itself out? Let me illustrate with an example of a description of a stage one and two individual from the Pre-Conventional level the Impulsive:

The Impulsive, treats other people as a “source of need gratification or supply.” Naturally a baby is at this level of mental development, but there are a few who do get stuck in this stage for life, most of the time these individuals end up in prisons due to their self centered existence. The awareness of God in this stage is very low, and these individuals are unapologetic in their self centered-ness. "The world and its participants exists for me, and me alone."

The second stage of the Pre-conventional level is the Opportunist, illustrated here, who “sees the world only from the perspective of their own needs and wants…[and gets it] by controlling others and protecting oneself.” These individuals have become masters of manipulation. They have matured a bit in their thinking, now they can take into effect others' perspectives, but only to get what they want. Toddlers have matured into this stage and are well known for their skills at manipulating parents to get needs met. Some people do get stuck in this stage and do not mature beyond it.

Thompson, in the Congruent life, sums up these two stages saying, “Stage 1… sees the world in terms of the gratification of one’s own basic needs and the avoidance of personal harm. People at stage 2 become capable of assessing the needs of others…but usually only as a means of getting what they themselves want.”

Bernard of Clairvoux would say that the capacity of love for these individuals is self focused: they love self for the sake of self.