I was watching the tv show " Men of a Certain Age" the other night and was yet again struck by our severe lack of respect for our elderly. I think we are the only culture that treats our elders in this manner. Other cultures put their elderly in their rightful authoritative place in society in in the younger generations lives. On this episode, Ray Romano's dad was trying to get a job at a hardware store. He was turned down by the store's manager because of the ladder climbing he would have to do and other " heavy lifting" and learning a new computer system. Of course, he had owned his own hardware store for 40 years, but that didn't stop the manager from casting him aside. That is, until one of his customers tries to ask a teenager how to fix his pipes and the teenager relies on the computer and his naivete to guide him. The dad steps in, gives him all he needs to fix his pipes at a low cost, and was hired immediately.
Why did the man need to show his expertise to get the job? Why don't we rely on the past generations to lead the next generation?
1 John 1:12-14 tells the reader to basically learn from your " fathers" because " They have known Him who was from the beginning" and from the "young men". Likewise, the reader can learn from " the children" and take from them their new fresh approach to knowing the Father.
Perhaps the young manager could take a lesson from the Father's knowledge in this situation.
Perhaps we can take a lesson from the " fathers" and "young men" in our congregations, too....
No comments:
Post a Comment