Every generation think they are different or better than the previous generation. “Out with the old. In with the new!”

The current generation thinks that they are better and have improved from the previous generation. The very fact that they reject their parents’ generation’s customs and cultures prove this fact. And they sincerely believe that they are different from the previous generation.

It’s only when the current generation grows up and is being replaced by the next generation that they realize that they weren’t that different from the previous generation. In other words, true assessment of the self comes only when we are humbled.

Jesus said to the pharisees, “And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'” Matt 23:30.

In other words, the pharisees thought that they were different from their previous generations. They were confident that they were more enlightened and more knowledgeable than the previous. But it is these very pharisees that ended up killing THE Prophet in Jesus! How wrong they were in their assessment of themselves!

How do we avoid that same mistake?

– Acknowledge that we have idols in our midst. If we think only the primitive people have idols, we will be making the same mistake.
– Admit that we are blind and ignorant. We need God to open our eyes to spiritual truth.
– Assume that we are no better than the people we look down upon. That includes the old-fashioned and outdated people.

PH