In his inaugural address as 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama said: "We remain a young nation but, in the words of the Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things."
The words he quoted are from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians. The whole passage he cites from runs thus: "When I was a child, I used to talk like a child and see things as a child does, and think like a child; but now that I have become an adult, it is time to set aside childish things."
Obama was referring to America's need to reaffirm its fundamental values of equality and freedom. But he could just as easily have been talking about his own need to step out of campaigning mode and take on the mantle of the presidency with gravity and workmanship. If indeed he had himself in mind as he spoke those words, it was wise of him.