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APPRENTICESHIP“The child says nothing but what is heard by the fire.”Life was certainly much simpler years ago. If a man was a carpenter, his son was likely to be the same. That’s because the boy worked with his father. It was apprenticeship by example. Most young people don’t learn trades like that anymore. Vocations have changed and chances are that Dad’s trade has passed into oblivion and now has a replacement in technology. And that is not the only thing that has changed in the parent/child relationship. Fifty years ago, leaving home was an experience. Most young people remained under the family roof until they married. They took jobs in the area in which they lived. Now that we have become a community of individuals, all that has changed. Education and economic success have driven parents apart from their children. Young people move into their own flats. Jobs are available all over the world for young men and women. They can take their lap-top computers wherever the highest-paid employment can be found. We have now become global families and it is often only the convenience of e-mail that has maintained a tenuous link between the generations. Does that mean that as parents and grandparents, our influence is no longer relevant? Do the young people of today, self confident and resourceful, no longer need our advice and the benefit of our wisdom and experience? It may seem that way, but something tells me otherwise. William Lyons Phelps, who died in 1943 wrote: “There is never much trouble in any family where the children hope someday to resemble their parents.” Amongst other things, this year I am engaged in presenting a series of seminars entitled ‘Positive Ageing’. It deals with the responsibility seniors have to support and encourage youth. What has disturbed me in speaking with many seniors is the gulf that has arisen between older people and the younger generation, often highlighted by distance. But there is something that cannot be lost, and that is the example we have set – good or bad – that the child “heard by the fire.” Our offspring have gone their own way, they have chosen their path through life, they have made their own decisions. But buried beneath the comings and goings of life is that invisible ‘umbilical cord’ that provides a link to something essential. In your circle of family and friends, may I encourage you to strengthen those ties between the generations. We may think that we are no longer relevant – wrong! Young people may appear to have abandoned the lessons they learned “by the fire” – very unlikely! "Example is not the main thing in influencing others — it is the only thing," said Albert Schweitzer. Have a good week. Pastor Ron. A companion Bible study is available as page 2 of the weekly message. Click here for that study.
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