"Diversity?"

Today is a little difficult to write because I can almost see some winch as they read it or shake their head. I want to give us something for deeper thought. Sometimes what we are doing is not wise but we follow the natural line of thinking not realizing what we are doing. I want to begin by saying I am for classes and teaching different ages! What concerns me is many times what people want leads to fragmentation.

It seems many are bent on stressing our differences too much. People seem to want studies, classes like a group therapy session rather than what is common and the Lord sees as common. In these classes, the word of the Lord is treated less than it's purpose and is just a reference book rather than the heart of God effecting change in our lives. People speak, "We need different classes because we have different needs!" That may be true but it may not be true. The needs of man, from temptations to the power to overcome are basically the same (I Cor. 10;13). "We need women having their own class because they have different needs than a man!" The same God who created man created the woman and the answers are the same for both. There aren't two sets of Scripture for each. We have allowed the world to shape our desires into believing there are two different sources of answers for both groups. Peer pressure, fear of the future, health, self-respect, financial decisions, parent/child relationships, husband/wife relationships, guilt and shame, chronic illness are all part of all of us. These things aren't just for one particular age, gender or group.

Some time back a man approached me telling me how our teens needed to be taught the purity of sex because their sex drives are so strong and sex is flaunted before their eyes daily. He spoke of peer pressure and the need for guidance. I asked him if he thought the older aren't tempted with sexual impurity and peer pressure to be part of the in-crowd or working force was around each of us? Drink with your workers. Party with them are all part of peer pressure for adults too! Pornography is all around the adults and it affects many a home!

I realize that many go through some things others don't but we must realize that everything boils down to a single, common denominator! We are all battling temptations, battling the same foe and facing the same challenges. What is needed is not breaking things down into specific groups but our lives molded and changed into the likeness of our Lord and Savior (Rom. 8:29). What we face is not a lack of understanding or need special attention but the character to deal rightly with things in light of the Lord (Rom. 5). It is all about godly character being developed in each one of us.

 We hear people speak that singles need a class because they aren't like the married couples. So what do we think the solution is? Let's create more isolation and remove the singles from the couples! The couples and singles learn to be separate rather than both molded together in the life of Christ, caring for one another.

We hear our teens and older have a communication problem so what do we do? Let the teens go their way and in some cases they don't even worship with the older. They do their own thing during worship. What are we really doing?

We are hurting ourselves by fragmenting us and thinking we have these special needs. The Lord and being molded into His likeness falls by the way, the very thing God is trying to do in all of us! We are the body of Christ! Weak and strong, old and young, the strugglers and the weak in character. We need Jesus to shape our lives individually so we can shape the body as a whole. We need to rethink about what we are doing and fragmenting, thinking the needs of certain ones are different than others is not clear thinking. Over-coming is what the Lord has in mind and over-comers must have Christ as the center in their heart, His Scripture leads our paths and we humbly submit which brings about unity and changing into His likeness.