Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Young & Old and Values
I was reading a blog (http://heartwarmers.blogspot.com/) by a preacher I interned with who is now a missionary in India. He was talking about the way that the western world values youth while the eastern culture values age. This made me think and I wonder if that battle is waged here in the west more than people realize. It is not a blanket statement that we value youth (though on many fronts we do) because we can also see in many circumstances how we don't trust youth. Young leaders have a harder time earning respect than those with more grey hair.
My wife (a CEO) talked about looking forward to being 30 because then she would stop getting this look that people would give when they found out she was in charge of an organization. People didn't trust that she had the skills and abilities to do so when she was under 30.
How do you bridge this gap? How do you bring the old and the young together when if you listen to both they are speaking different languages?
My wife (a CEO) talked about looking forward to being 30 because then she would stop getting this look that people would give when they found out she was in charge of an organization. People didn't trust that she had the skills and abilities to do so when she was under 30.
How do you bridge this gap? How do you bring the old and the young together when if you listen to both they are speaking different languages?
// posted by Eric @ 2:05 PM 
Comments:
<< Home
Especially in a church setting. In the business world, you can hang your hat on some type of credentials to a certain extent. It isn't 100%, but if someone sees a paper on your wall, they assume you know something, even if you are young.
In a church, there aren't many, besides the preacher with credentials you can point to. And leadership is much more subjective. So the assumption is made that age = leadership ability. The problem is that this assumption isn't always correct. Yes, we tend to get wiser with age - but not necessarily. And differences of opinion between generations are too often attributed to lack of wisdom or knowledge in the young, or lack of creativity and modern thinking in the old, and are not examined for their ligitimacy.
How do we fix this? I can only change myself, so I try to be open and understand other's point of view without prejudging (not easy). And hope that eventually, others will do the same. Or that my work will eventually speak for itself and I'll gain trust.
Unfortunately, I have no idea how to make others change - so if you figure that out - please let me know.
Post a Comment
In a church, there aren't many, besides the preacher with credentials you can point to. And leadership is much more subjective. So the assumption is made that age = leadership ability. The problem is that this assumption isn't always correct. Yes, we tend to get wiser with age - but not necessarily. And differences of opinion between generations are too often attributed to lack of wisdom or knowledge in the young, or lack of creativity and modern thinking in the old, and are not examined for their ligitimacy.
How do we fix this? I can only change myself, so I try to be open and understand other's point of view without prejudging (not easy). And hope that eventually, others will do the same. Or that my work will eventually speak for itself and I'll gain trust.
Unfortunately, I have no idea how to make others change - so if you figure that out - please let me know.
<< Home
