Generation Gap Understanding, Comparison and Patience

[bobinfaith]

Hello brothers and sisters;

I gather that many of the members at Biblical Truth Forum are mid to late baby boomers born 1946 - 1964. One of the areas I've discussed is how to understand and co-exist with the younger generations, Generation X, Millennials, GenZ, as well as today's boomers.

The generation prior to 1946 were called the Silent Generation. Their lives had much uncertainty and hardship, which shaped their perspective lives leading to more understanding and support for the younger generation post WWII. Following the war, Church attendance was high, the Silent Generation were compassionate toward the boomers and wanted to give them a good life. But they were critical because their boomer children's lives were easier, more relaxed and this caused a mischievous behavior, irresponsibility and an increased breakdown of moral society.

As the boomers aged, future generations - Generation X, millennials, GenZ's are facing unique challenges, economic instability, the impact of COVID, unattainable family goals, a divided political landscape and unanswered questions and examples of faith in Christ, that many boomers may not understand or answer.

The Silent Generation understood the struggles of the younger generation during a time of national crisis.

One of the problems I hear about about the Generation Gap is what I just shared, is their summation. I find this discussion in error because it omits Biblical teaching of the generations. There are so many teachings throughout the Old and New Testaments. Here's a few;

Deuteronomy 6: 6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. - NKJV

Psalm 78:4, 4 We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done. - NKJV

Ephesians 6:1-4, 1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: 3 “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” 4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. - NKJV

Faith is meant to be shared daily in the early foundation of our homes preventing cultural disconnects. God commands in Deuteronomy that parents and elders are to actively share their faith, trials and testimonies with their young. The generations need to be ministered to with authority but with a responsibility for gentle, understanding guidance rather than harshness.

What are your experiences and thoughts to this discussion?

God bless you all and your families.

Bob

 

[David]

Great topic and good thoughts, Bob. Generational labels may help describe the time people grew up in, but they cannot tell us what is in a person’s heart. The Bible does not divide the body of Christ into Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z. It speaks to older and younger believers, then places every one of them under the authority of the same Lord and the same Word.

The relationship between generations is a lot like a relay race. The older runner cannot hold tightly to the baton and complain that the younger runner is not carrying it. At some point, he must faithfully pass it on. But the younger runner must also receive it and continue in the right direction. The race is not won by arguing about who had the harder stretch of track. It is won when the truth is faithfully carried forward.

Titus 2 tells older believers to teach what is good and model godly living. At the same time, Paul told young Timothy, “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers” ~1 Timothy 4:12. Responsibility runs both ways. Older believers must provide a faithful example, and younger believers must not use their age or culture as an excuse for disobedience. Truth does not become outdated, and sin does not become acceptable because a new generation gives it a new name.

Deuteronomy 6 also shows that God’s Word must first be in the parents’ hearts before it is taught to their children. You cannot lead the next generation down a road you refuse to walk yourself. Young people can usually tell the difference between faith that is merely talked about and faith that is genuinely lived.

We should also remember that salvation cannot be inherited like a family Bible or an old photograph. We can place a Bible in a young person’s hands, teach them the truth, and tell them what God has done, but each one must personally repent and believe the gospel. God has no grandchildren. No one enters His kingdom on the faith of his parents or grandparents.

One positive I see is that the generation gap can become an opportunity for ministry instead of a reason for division. Older believers carry lessons, scars, and testimonies of God’s faithfulness. Younger believers bring questions, energy, and access to people and places older generations may never reach. When both generations submit to Scripture, those differences can strengthen the work instead of hindering it.

“One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts” ~Psalm 145:4.

That is more than learning how to coexist. It is one generation helping the next know the Lord. BTF can be a place where younger people ask difficult questions without being mocked and older believers offer biblical guidance without being dismissed as out of touch. When everyone bows before God’s Word, age does not have to build a wall between us. It can become a bridge for carrying the truth forward.

 

[bobinfaith]

Hi David;

I appreciate your encouragement and good thoughts. From the horrible mistakes I made toward my Dad, Mom, Grandparents, siblings and those closest to me led to years of being distant, an apology and eventual reconciliation, I managed to get past them.

Years later as God grew me up, one of the areas of lessons learned is "the tool" used in the study of His Word. The Old and New Testaments pointed me to Scriptures that could have helped when I was going through those growing years as a young Christian. But it seems inevitable that no matter how much knowledge we gain, we'll still go through those daily hard knocks.

God bless you, David.

Bob

 

[Yesua888]

Hello brothers and sisters;

I gather that many of the members at Biblical Truth Forum are mid to late baby boomers born 1946 - 1964. One of the areas I've discussed is how to understand and co-exist with the younger generations, Generation X, Millennials, GenZ, as well as today's boomers.

The generation prior to 1946 were called the Silent Generation. Their lives had much uncertainty and hardship, which shaped their perspective lives leading to more understanding and support for the younger generation post WWII. Following the war, Church attendance was high, the Silent Generation were compassionate toward the boomers and wanted to give them a good life. But they were critical because their boomer children's lives were easier, more relaxed and this caused a mischievousness behavior, irresponsibility and an increased breakdown of moral society.

As the boomers aged, future generations - Generation X, millennials, GenZ's are facing unique challenges, economic instability, the impact of COVID, unattainable family goals, a divided political landscape and unanswered questions and examples of faith in Christ, that many boomers may not understand or answer.

The Silent Generation understood the struggles of the younger generation during a time of national crisis.

One of the problems I hear about about the Generation Gap is what I just shared, is their summation. I find this discussion in error because it omits Biblical teaching of the generations. There are so many teachings throughout the Old and New Testaments. Here's a few;

Deuteronomy 6: 6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. - NKJV

Psalm 78:4, 4 We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done. - NKJV

Ephesians 6:1-4, 1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: 3 “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” 4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. - NKJV

Faith is meant to be shared daily in the early foundation of our homes preventing cultural disconnects. God commands in Deuteronomy that parents and elders are to actively share their faith, trials and testimonies with their young. The generations need to be ministered to with authority but with a responsibility for gentle, understanding guidance rather than harshness.

What are your experiences and thoughts to this discussion?

God bless you all and your families.

Bob

Bob,

This is an excellent topic, thanks and here is my 2c worth:

"Divided Families"
I wish that my parents were Christians, when my Sis and I grew up.
Our saving Grace was that neighbours took us to Sunday School ... this other side of life was never forgotten by either of us ...
I truly wish that I was a "Practising Christian" when my children were born.
I also wish that I was a "Stay At Home Parent" for longer than my children's first few years of life (my time with them was not long enough)
Pre Wars (1 & 2): Families were large close knit and the judiciary and governments, based their law on God's Law.
Post Wars: In my generation (50's) I would say that the "divided family" continued to move away from tradition, away from God.
During both Wars, saw borders divide families too!
Grandparents were not available to help bring children up in my generation, because they needed to work to survive; to have a roof over their heads and food on the table.
Both parents had to work.
Children were placed in pre-school or after-school "care" ... they missed out on their "formative years", where proper love and care from their natural parents and grandparents, was absent.
Many children had to stay in boarding schools. In some "Christian" institutions, our children were physically abused, and Bible teaching was just "going through the motions" and meaningless (certainly not trusted by many a child.) Institutions harboured infiltrators just as the Church does today. The Word of God was misrepresented, boring to the children, lacking substance.
My daughter worked for the Catholic Education System, where abusive head masters just got transferred to another school (or church). In some instances they jreceived a "wrap over the knuckles". Recently, one of her many complaints has led to an enquiry into certain individual's abuse of children.
Today the "powers to be" are divided in recognising or accepting The Only True God ... rather they pander to all denominations and all religions (even the "pope" and the "king" are making this the norm).

The "culture" today, is to keep striving to earn more, to survive or to focus on "material wealth", instead of "Spiritual Wealth". The focus on God is lost by most of humanity. Families have drifted apart ...

This is an upside down world where "good is bad", and "bad is good", this is the norm!?
I am hoping that mankind has come full circle ...

God is Moving and His Timing is Perfect for All.
We often wonder why, why, why and why ... ?
"Jesus will return when ALL the lights are on"

That didn't address "why the generation gap?"

Imo it has been a gradual shift, post Wars right up to today's Times.
Lawlessness abounds, God Word is taboo, with the Bible banned in many institutions, and countries.
Our children spend more time away from home and have moved away from traditional values.
Schools and Universities are over "liberal", and it seems to be by design. Our children catch onto technology, as they are taught it in schools from a young age; they are streaks ahead of our generation (they take their devices into the classroom). The Gap widens ...
Children are encouraged to think for themselves, and act as "freely" as they wish (good or bad). "Punishment" and "Morals" are a thing of the past (unless the parents are Christian, and insist on truly Christian educational facilities). Teachers are not allowed to "discipline" our children. They come home with the attitude, that they are "untouchable" (they know their "rights") and know much more than their parents ... the gap widens ..
Children have largely by default moved away from family and good values. Parents have too, because of the struggle to survive, their absence during the formative years of their children (this applies to the previous generation too, where parents were "absent")

In this Upside Down World, God IS Moving and His Timing is perfect for all.
We often wonder why, why, why, and why ... ?
God has a Plan that is way Bigger than we are!

 

[David]

Bob,

This is an excellent topic, thanks and here is my 2c worth:

"Divided Families"
I wish that my parents were Christians, when my Sis and I grew up.
Our saving Grace was that neighbours took us to Sunday School ... this other side of life was never forgotten by either of us ...
I truly wish that I was a "Practising Christian" when my children were born.
I also wish that I was a "Stay At Home Parent" for longer than my children's first few years of life (my time with them was not long enough)
Pre Wars (1 & 2): Families were large close knit and the judiciary and governments, based their law on God's Law.
Post Wars: In my generation (50's) I would say that the "divided family" continued to move away from tradition, away from God.
During both Wars, saw borders divide families too!
Grandparents were not available to help bring children up in my generation, because they needed to work to survive; to have a roof over their heads and food on the table.
Both parents had to work.
Children were placed in pre-school or after-school "care" ... they missed out on their "formative years", where proper love and care from their natural parents and grandparents, was absent.
Many children had to stay in boarding schools. In some "Christian" institutions, our children were physically abused, and Bible teaching was just "going through the motions" and meaningless (certainly not trusted by many a child.) Institutions harboured infiltrators just as the Church does today. The Word of God was misrepresented, boring to the children, lacking substance.
My daughter worked for the Catholic Education System, where abusive head masters just got transferred to another school (or church). In some instances they jreceived a "wrap over the knuckles". Recently, one of her many complaints has led to an enquiry into certain individual's abuse of children.
Today the "powers to be" are divided in recognising or accepting The Only True God ... rather they pander to all denominations and all religions (even the "pope" and the "king" are making this the norm).

The "culture" today, is to keep striving to earn more, to survive or to focus on "material wealth", instead of "Spiritual Wealth". The focus on God is lost by most of humanity. Families have drifted apart ...

This is an upside down world where "good is bad", and "bad is good", this is the norm!?
I am hoping that mankind has come full circle ...

God is Moving and His Timing is Perfect for All.
We often wonder why, why, why and why ... ?
"Jesus will return when ALL the lights are on"

That didn't address "why the generation gap?"

Imo it has been a gradual shift, post Wars right up to today's Times.
Lawlessness abounds, God Word is taboo, with the Bible banned in many institutions, and countries.
Our children spend more time away from home and have moved away from traditional values.
Schools and Universities are over "liberal", and it seems to be by design. Our children catch onto technology, as they are taught it in schools from a young age; they are streaks ahead of our generation (they take their devices into the classroom). The Gap widens ...
Children are encouraged to think for themselves, and act as "freely" as they wish (good or bad). "Punishment" and "Morals" are a thing of the past (unless the parents are Christian, and insist on truly Christian educational facilities). Teachers are not allowed to "discipline" our children. They come home with the attitude, that they are "untouchable" (they know their "rights") and know much more than their parents ... the gap widens ..
Children have largely by default moved away from family and good values. Parents have too, because of the struggle to survive, their absence during the formative years of their children (this applies to the previous generation too, where parents were "absent")

In this Upside Down World, God IS Moving and His Timing is perfect for all.
We often wonder why, why, why, and why ... ?
God has a Plan that is way Bigger than we are!

You are right. So many changes have occurred in the years since God and His Word were systematically removed from the home of the divided family. Many of the challenges of growing up today have not existed in previous generations. However, that does not mean that we can scapegoat the school, the technology or even the culture of the day. The main difference between then and now is the teaching of children at home and what they see practiced by parents.

That is why I think Deuteronomy 6 is so important. God's Word needs to be the focus of the home. I think it would be good for our generation to admit some things that we did wrong, share our knowledge and experiences with the younger generation, and point them in the right direction- back to the Bible. Not just complaining about how things used to be when we were younger, like I have caught myself doing.

 

[bobinfaith]

Good morning, David and Yesua888;

You share excellent posts. As Christians we have to keep abreast of the world and from reading your posts we have. As individual believers, where do we go from here? How do we pray for the world? How do we go forward?

God has seen every way of the world since the beginning. The Lord gives each of us the opportunity, to start each day anchoring our hearts, values, and daily actions (application) in Christ.

I've always been optimistic in most things I approach but I have to confess there are times when I give in to despair and anger. But God has helped me come to my senses and instead of lamenting and feeling hopeless. He fills me with trust, hope and guidance. It's a great trade off.

But a lot of people don't see that trade off so they succumb to hopelessness. Can a believer imagine giving up hope in God?

Lamentations 3:22-23, 22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness. - ESV

Psalm 143:8, 8 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. - ESV

We need to let this sink in: Scriptures and study of the Bible lift us up because it's coming straight from God. Sola scriptura (by Scripture alone) should always come first. Additional Biblical text book studies are beneficial as secondary, not replacing the Bible.

The Scriptures supply us with daily application such as avoiding confrontation, bringing quick judgment or shaming others. Don't allow worldly ambition or morals compromise our Christian core values. Instead, mirror the kindness and grace of God to those around you.

This is not suppose to be easy peasy. It's takes discipline from God. He's the One who builds us up, builds us up so we can do our part for His glory.

Other's thoughts?

God bless everyone.

Bob

 

[David]

I agree with you Bob. It is discouraging to look around at the world and see where it is headed. But our hope is not in this world getting better. Our hope is in the Lord who does not change.

Beginning each day in God's Word is where we must be. It corrects our thinking, strengthens our hearts, and gives us encouragement to keep pressing on when discouragement or anger wants to overtake us. Lamentations 3 is encouraging because His mercies never fail.

Scripture MUST come first in all we do. We can learn from others, but nothing can take the place of reading, studying, and obeying the Word of God Himself. We need grace AND truth. Yes we should not be hunting for arguments, but we should not shrink back when error needs to be exposed.

 

[bobinfaith]

Hi David;

You said something KEY. "It corrects our thinking." When we have peace and trust in God we can think better enabling us to discern and make decisions as we press on.

God bless you, David.

Bob