“Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 19:32)
My parents raised me to honor the elderly, protect them, defend them, and give them the respect they so richly deserved. That is one lesson I never forgot and I am glad to still perform. I have known many elderly men and women who have blessed me by their words of wisdom, by their tender hearts of compassion, and by their mentorship. The Bible actually says quite a bit about those with hoary heads.
I have had the privilege of working alongside those who are my seniors (maybe not by much, but…) – both in the secular world as well as the ministry. I grew up working with the visually-impaired here in Quincy – most of whom were much older than I. They taught me invaluable lessons about watching out for and aiding those who couldn’t see or fend for themselves. As I grew older and entered the ministry, I learned the beauty of wisdom and of looking at life through the eyes of experience. The same went in the military. I had Non-Commissioned Officers as well as Commissioned Officers who took me under their wings and taught me from their actual combat experience.
We all have the privilege of learning from those whose life stories have been recorded in scripture. We read the words of Solomon as he looks back over his life and records his insights and wisdom gained by living a life of blessing – and of excess. We learn from the book of Job how to hold onto our faith when all seems lost – even when we know we haven’t done anything to “deserve” it. We learn from Daniel how to stand strong against those who rise up against us for believing in and trusting God. We learn from Moses how to lead others under pressure. From Abraham we learn to hold onto our faith when it looks like our time has passed. Hebrews 11 lists a short list of those we can study and after whom we can model our Christian walk.
I know I encouraged you a few nights ago to find an elder man or woman in the church and befriend him or her. I want to strongly encourage you, again, to do this. I’m not sure why God is pounding this home during this time, but He won’t let it go. I had the privilege of visiting a beautiful retirement facility this morning in southern Missouri. It was beautiful, the staff were friendly, and it offered a full range of amenities. BUT. Having said that, it is sad to see our elderly sitting alone – whether in church, in public, in a retirement home, or wherever. It is sad to me to watch an elderly person out in public trying to make their way in a world gone crazy. The world celebrates youth (as it always has) and abandons the “old people” (often as young as their forties). I have been on both sides. I have been the one rushing to get around the old man walking with a cane or the old woman at the cash register who wants to talk to the cashier about her cats. Now I am crossing the threshold over into the old person category and I see things differently. Of course. Too old wise, too young smart.
The main message I would like to impart to you today is simply this: respect one another. We all speak of loving each other. The word for honour in this verse means to adorn, to pay honor to, to cause to swell, and to show partiality to someone. We speak of love but neglect honor. Today I encourage you to find someone – young, old, whatever – and compliment them honestly, tell them how much they have influenced your life, what value they have added to your understanding, whatever. Let love guide you with no motive, no desire for them to return the favor. From your heart freely give.
Be blessed.
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