By This…

Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father.

 Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers,

and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.”

I Timothy 5:1-2

 

 

The Bible gives us instruction in how we are to treat one another and

 surprise, surprise, it once again uses the picture of a family.

We are to respect the older men and woman in our fellowship in the same way we respect our own mothers and fathers.

Likewise the younger are to be treated like brothers and sisters.

As we were reminded this past Sunday the church is a family of believers.

We are not a business or a social club.

Perhaps this advice seems so foreign to some because even in our families we no longer respect and honor one another.

The elderly are not esteemed; they are mocked for their slow driving or forgetfulness.

Our peers aren’t treated as brothers or sisters but as competitors we are always trying to outdo.

If we are not careful these same attitudes can creep into the church.

Certainly this is not confined to one’s age but also their ‘station’ in life.

We fawn over the well-heeled and have disdain for those lower on the social ladder than ourselves.

This must not be.

We must be a model to the world.

We must show His love to one another in such a way that those outside the family cannot wait to become a part of it.

Jesus said it best (He always seems to doesn’t He?)

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."