Clearing Off My Desk

 I have been thinking about a couple of things lately and I am beginning to think that these ideas are not true. Not all proverbs are in the Bible. Many old wives fables seem true but upon closer inspection they prove to be not true, or only partly true.

First, the third generation problem. Some people feel like generational wealth or movements fall apart after three generations. The first generation makes the wealth, the second generation manages the wealth, and the third generation spends the wealth. This might be true in some situations, but it is not true across all circumstances. Generational wealth only hurts the children if the parents did a poor job raising them. And when it comes to churches, we have not been around long enough to see how this plays out in a local church. Pastor Mitchell handed off to pastor Greg, and he is doing a great job. But pastor Greg has no son to hand off to. So time will tell if we survive when there are no obvious heirs to take over. And as for wealth, there is no guarantee that your children will be as smart as you. So the jury is still out on the third generation problem.

Second, it the idea that the elderly have wisdom and that they are a resource that we can tap into. I see some problems here. First, being old is no guarantee that you will also be wise. I have met some old fools in my life. And, since we live in such a youth oriented society, the elderly are ignored. The reality is that we get social information from our peer group. Kids learn how their world works from other kids. Parents learn from other parents. Senior citizens compare notes all the time. There is a fine line between being old and wise, and just being old. No one cares about what grandpa knows except grandpa

One amazing thing about God is that we do not think of him as being old. He is timeless, and His word is still truth and light to every generation. With God, the best is yet to come!