Across Generations

Baby Chicks

The image of a teacher as someone older and wiser than I held true for the better part of my life.  It was certainly true at home and in school, and later, in the workplace, I found myself reporting to more experienced men and women who had much to offer.

But there came a tie when the scale tilted a different way, and suddenly the reporting lines shifted.  I reported to someone younger, someone less experienced, someone who felt he knew better how to do just about everything, even things he had never done before.

At one time I had been the young supervisor or manager that older people reported to, and now I was experiencing what those people had experienced and I didn't like it.

Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. - 1 Timothy 4:12

In today's reading, Paul is advising Timothy to be a good and true teacher, to use the talents and strengths he was given and be confident in his faith.

I can imagine the congregation of believers giving him a hard time.  He was young and may have been a bit timid in his delivery of the message.  They were accustomed to a much more forceful tone, spoken with authority and conviction, and here he was, a boy.

As we baby-boomers grab hold of another generation, the senior population, and make it ours, just as we did to each generation before, we may get a bit cocky, thinking we know it all.

There are good reasons for thinking that way.  By our standards, the school system is not up to par and the younger generations have lost their connection to history and the traditional studies of grammar, composition, reading and writing, not to mention math and science.

Through our eyes, the young are not prepared.  They can't survive on their own, and they certainly can't teach others.

Is this a fair assessment?

Just as we thought we knew better when we were young, we need to accept that view in others, and that can be a tall order, especially when all the indicators seem to point elsewhere.

It is hard to imagine a world where the language, customs and traditions are all in flux, but these things are not new.  Throughout time, we, as a people, have adapted to change and adopted new ways.

Timothy may be a good example of what we "older" folks need to see, a young, bright, inspired soul looking to share what he sees of the world with others who may lack the ability to see past the clouds of certainty that had proven so faithful to them all their lives.

The message?

Be open to the prospect of change, if not to change itself.  Try to see the world through younger eyes, and listen to new voices.  Maybe we will find that the meaning behind the words is very similar across the generations.