Brother raising arms against brother. That was one of the most disturbing aspects of the Civil War our country experienced 150+ years ago. And that’s not only true regarding fellow American’s raising arms against each other but real families being divided, believing in each side of a particular cause enough that they would be willing to kill each other to defend it. One might wonder how that could possibly be the case. How could brethren possibly come to blows in such a heated way?
Removed from that period of history it seems unbelievable to us how folks who claim to love each other could possibly come to blows in such a way. But I’ll tell you, in a way there is just such a conflict that exists among God’s people today. A modern day conflict that is as uncivil as any war has ever been. This conflict exists in a great generational divide. A divide that should not exist but in many places clearly does. A divide that has manifested itself in an older generation and a younger generation that does not respect each other, that does not view each other as an asset to the Lord’s cause, and generally resents what each other is trying to accomplish in the church.
Is this a problem that exists everywhere? No. Is it a problem that exists in the majority of congregations? I have no idea. But it is a problem. It is a problem that is wedging Christians against each other and doing a greater disservice to their work that most anything else they could do.
But in the Bible anytime you ever see generations not working with each other for one another’s best interest and to accomplish God’s purpose you see disaster. God told His people to train each next generation in His law. That way they would be prepared to meet Divine expectation through their lives and perpetuate faithfulness in the nation (Deuteronomy 6:6-9). But for that to happen there had to be a degree of mutual respect between the two. The younger generation had to respect the older generation to teach, mentor, and guide them. The older generation had to respect the younger generation to learn, grow, mature, and one day pick up the mantle of leadership.
That was not only true in ancient Israel it is still true today. Titus 2:1-10 outlines some of the same expectations between older men and women and their younger counterparts. The younger have to respect and learn from the older, but the older have to trust the younger to learn from and mature as well. Instead what often happens is that each complains about the other. They don’t trust each other. They refuse to work together. They blame each other for the lack of harmony that exists, never looking at themselves in the mirror to see the root of the problem.
And the worst part of the matter is that the church doesn’t even suffer the most severe consequences. Those who suffer the most are the lost souls in the world who don’t get a chance to hear the gospel because Christians are too busy fighting amongst themselves. If you have no experience with this consider yourself fortunate. But just know that it is present and is holding congregations back from reaching their full potential. Christians, we have got to learn to work together to bridge the generational divide and heal the wound that exists to move forward looking to eternity.
-Andy Brewer