Mix. Don't Match.

You know what has always seemed like a funny idea to me?  That people are thought to thrive best when they are surrounded by their peers. 

Isn't this the idea behind grades in school and why youthgroups exist in churches and why we are encouraged to spend time with people our own age?  But the problem is really simple.  How can anybody learn anything of value from people who are in the same stage of life as they are?  What could a twelve-year-old possibly have of value to teach another twelve-year-old?  I certainly cannot imagine what that would be.

This seems obvious when it’s down on paper, but the acceptance of this notion is far-reaching and its consequences are not menial.  Entire generations are being emotionally stunted because they are looking around at the people next to them and the people next to them are doing the same.  This breeds “trend-setters” who are hailed for greatness because of their confidence rather than for their competence.  It is the appealing, not the good, that sets the bar for young people in this system.  This is dangerous for the simple reason that “the appealing” for a twelve-year-old is almost never good for them.  They’re twelve. 

Mix.  Don’t match.

The “one room schoolhouse” model of teaching might have more merit to it than we might have thought.  Kids who are put in a position where they are helping younger kids with the things they used to struggle with teaches responsibility, caring, patience, and a non-self-centered worldview.  In churches, kids should be learning from people who are older and more mature, not pandered to by a childish adult who is trying to relate to them.

Here is my personal view of how someone should learn to be an adult: find someone you want to be like and spend time figuring out how to do that.  Also, keep an eye for younger people you can teach a thing or two to.  Usually this will happen by you seeing someone else fail at the same thing you used to fail at.  Step up and share what you learned from your failure so they will spend less time than you did figuring out what’s wrong.

 

Understanding Rest

Thought on the Sabbath

On the drive back from Gainesville to Jacksonville, my wife and I started talking about Sundays.  It is fairly common knowledge that for Judaism and Christianity, there is one day out of the week that is set aside for worship and/or rest.  For Judaism this day is Saturday, since it is the last day of the week and during the creation of the world, God rested on the 7^th day.  For Christians, it used to be Saturday (since Christianity grew as an offshoot of Judaism) but it was changed to Sunday by Constantine in 321 AD.  There is a little bit of debate as to why he did this, but the common consensus is that he already worshiped his pagan gods on Sunday, and it was convenient to make those days the same.

So, knowing that, my wife and I were talking about if it would be somehow better for Christians to change their day of worship back to Saturday, since that is where we came from.

I tend to think that for every one philosophical question there is, there are at least three vital presuppositions that the question-asker is assuming that have already been answered.  Here’s what I mean.  Let’s say that you have the question “what is Truth?”  To ask that question, you are already assuming that Truth is something that CAN be found (that’s 1), you are assuming that Truth is something which OUGHT to be found (that’s 2), and you are assuming that once this Truth is found, it will be an important discovery (that’s 3).  Questions are always based off other questions. 

So what are the questions behind this question about Sunday? 

First, this question assumes that the world we live in, and the world God works in, is a 7 day week.  Bible believing Christians should think about Abraham – did he work by a 7 day week?  He would have no reason to, since nothing in nature works by 7 days.  It would be a 1/7 chance that this day we call the Sabbath is the same day that God rested on.  To change our day of worship by one day could have no mathematical rationale – it would be entirely cultural, since the Gregorian calendar (the one we use right now) was created in 1582 AD.

Second, this question assumes that the “last day of the week” is, in fact, a Saturday or Sunday.  Why?  Our work week is typically Monday-Friday, but many people do not use that same work week.  Many companies have different work weeks, which means that the “last day of the week” could mean different things for many different people. 

Third, since this question is entirely faith-based, it assumes that God cares about the days of the week and wants all to be on the same page.  If the main goal of the Sabbath is rest, why is it important for everyone to rest at the same time?  Is it fair to say that since rest is an individual activity, it isn't the main thing that everyone rests on the same day?

My personal view is based off of a small observation about the creation story.  God created the heavens and the earth, and on the sixth day, He created Man.  On the 7^th day He rested.  This means that after God did all the work, He rested.  This also means that the very first thing Man ever did was recognize that God did all the work, and rested in that completed work.  To me, this means that in my salvation, I must recognize that I did no work to gain what I have received.  I need to begin everything from the knowledge that God has first done all the work necessary, and I must begin from a place of rest.  All work I ever do must begin from a place of rest in what God has already completed.  So whether it’s on Sunday, or Saturday, or Wednesday morning, I should not strive to complete anything until I first rest in the knowledge that God has already done all the work. 

Worship and rest in that knowledge.