I discovered America in 1945. My older brother Wayne had already made this discovery in 1940, and my younger brother Rickey would make a similar discovery in 1948. This put me squarely in the middle of my brothers in order of birth.
In recent years, much has been made about the birth order of children in the family. According to those who subscribe to such a theory, our psychological profile can be predicted by our place in the birth order of our family. I have occasionally looked over the predictions about the profile of the middle child, and about the only conclusion that I could reach was that I ought to go jump off a bridge somewhere.
According to the birth order folks, the middle child has neither the rights of the oldest nor the privileges of the youngest. As a result of this, he feels that life is unfair, feels unloved, left out, and “squeezed.†He often feels that he doesn’t have a place in the family, becomes discouraged and the “problem child,†or elevates himself by pushing down other siblings. You see what I mean by my previous reference to the bridge.
There are, however, a couple of hopeful advantages about being the middle child. He is adaptable, and he learns to deal with both older and younger siblings--a skill worth developing. I have always preferred to focus on these parts of the profile.
Determining your birth order in the kingdom is rather difficult because of the large number of brothers and sisters you have in the family. I think it is safe to say that since you were neither the first nor the last that you are like me, a middle child.
In order to live up to our birth order, I think middle children ought to be right in the middle of important things. Like, right in the middle of the Father’s will. Knowing God’s will is not always easy. Charles Swindoll said, “It’s easier for me to know God’s will for my wife than it is for me to know His will for my life.†We think we know what our spouse or children ought to do, but knowing what we ought to do is more difficult.
Sometimes the problem is that we resist His will. We sing many different invitation hymns in worship, but many folks seem to always be singing under their breath, “I Shall Not Be Moved.†Our prayer ought to be that we would be responsive and in the middle of the Lord’s will for our lives.
All of us middle children ought to make a commitment to being right in the middle of God’s work. I believe that God most often does His major work through the church. That’s why we need to be a part of the church. I believe in the church. I was saved in the church, baptized in the church, called to preach in the church, ordained in the church, married in the church, and one day my funeral service will be held in the church. That’s where a middle child ought to be. All of us middle children ought to be right in the middle of God’s work through God’s church.
