“But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.”

A favorite opinion writer of mine is David Brooks.  I am fascinated with those like Brooks who can cover a far-ranging set of topics.  Brooks is a also a sociologist and brings interesting insights into communities, behaviors, norms, etc. A while back he wrote a column in the New York Times on how we change throughout the decades of our lives.  He placed these descriptors on each:

In our 20’s – superman (person), possibilities, feverish energy, joiner, brave, entrepreneurial, unsympathetic to others

In our 30’s and 40’s – political scientist, lower estimations of own power and greater estimation of the power of institutions where you participate, faith in your navigation skills, adaptation, responsive to the “market” around you

In our 50’s and 60’s- sociologist, understanding of the power of relationships over individuals, managing and coaching, ambition fades and is transferred to the appreciation of ambitions of others, reflective and sentimental

In our 70’s and 80’s – historian, favoring tradition, appreciation of luck/fate, recognize the power of the dead over the power of the living

See yourself in this set of descriptions?  See your customers/consumers anywhere in here?

This is a path we will all walk, the question is what we will be like when we get there and what we will do to make the most of the understanding of what it means to successfully cross the generations.

As we start this New Year (my Pastor likes to say that the whole month of January is the start), we need to consider how we are aging and maturing in chronological, emotional and spiritual levels.  We may already have our 2014 goals set, but like anything else, success comes from looking and relooking at where we are and where we are trying to go.  If our spiritual growth is not at the top of our 2014 priorities, then we should recalibrate now and ensure that we have our priorities correct.  How we cross the generations is important and how we think about the future starts today.

Reference: Exodus 20:6 (New Living Translation)