like we treat family

Today in the One Year Bible, we read from 1 Timothy 5:1-25. Paul tells us how to treat older people.

He says to be gentle with older people, treating them like we would our own fathers. And unfortunately, many people today have to imagine what that is like. Many today had absent fathers. Many had abusive fathers. So alot of people have to think about how their own father SHOULD be treated in order to understand how to treat older people.

And that disconnect is what makes the human community fracture. The family unit, which has taught people from the beginning of time how to relate to others, has been redefined and to a large extent eradicated, leaving us wondering how we're supposed to live. I see kids running wild at the store, and parents seem honestly clueless about how to treat them - how to discipline them with love and firmness. Kids are often spoiled, not because the parents don't care, but just because they don't know what to do. They were never taught by THEIR parents.

So we have to learn these things. We have to spend time with healthy families, even if they're not our own. We have to experience what family life SHOULD look like... so we can learn how to treat people.

God, please heal our families. And help us learn how to love.