“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers,” (1 Peter 1:18)

Those of us who love and respect our parents and grandparents, who look up to our teachers in the faith and appreciate what those who went before us have done, we face a dilemma at times. How can our views evolve without that being a tacit condemnation of the very people we care about?

Take, for example, what happened in the United States in the 19th century with the subject of slavery. Christians had defended slavery on biblical grounds. Many had owned slaves. At some point, someone had to stand up and say, “We were wrong.”

It happened again last century with the subject of racism. Christians had to say, “I was wrong. Dad and Granddad were wrong; whites are no better than anyone else.”

What will be the topics or topics for our generation? And will we have the courage to stand up for truth? Will we have the grace to do so in a loving way? Will we be able to show love and respect for those that have gone before, while continuing to grow in our understanding of the truth?

And how will we react when our children stand up and point out our errors?