growing up is hard to do

I don't struggle with respecting my elders. This is at least partially attributable my upbringing and schooling in Taiwan, where respect for one's elders was expected and socially enforced. I still feel awkward calling by first names people who are over a decade my senior - even at their invitation, even after nearly 20 years living in the U.S., where people are relatively casual about such things.

What I struggle with quite a bit is respecting people who are younger. Currently, this class includes people born in the 80s and later. I confess, I just finished reading some posts where a few people in this category went OFF - all the while quoting Scripture and bragging about how much they know about God. My reaction: surely someone more mature would not react in this manner, or would not be so insecure as to feel the need to beat their chests this way. It seems... childish.

It is very hard for me to take people like this seriously in general, and perhaps it's unfair to diminish an entire generation based on a bad sample. But frankly, it is that much harder for me to take seriously the strong opinions of someone who is younger. Such a person may be well educated, intelligent and know a lot of information, but life is more than books and IQ and trivia, is it not? And I can't help but equate shorter life with less experience.

As I write this, however, I recognize that my sentiments derive from hindsight. I was more assured of my maturity and knowledge about life and God and everything else under the sun five years ago (and even more so ten years ago) than I am today. I recall those days and I literally laugh out loud at having such confidence out of all proportions with what I actually knew and understood. How ignorant I had been of the severity and slavery of sin and old wounds! How thoroughly I underestimated the power, glory and bottomless grace of God!

My perception of the gap between my worth and God's seems to expand exponentially everyday, but somehow the Cross always bridges the gap. I am not one-tenth of the person I thought I was ten years ago, but I would not trade the little that I know now for all that I thought I knew then.