Aging, Honor, and Responsibility
Aging is one of those things that we do both consciously and unconsciously. I try to be diligent about what I can do to stay healthy and active while at the same time noticing “crepe” skin and everything on my body shifting south.
It also seems that I spend more and more time thinking about what a “woman my age” should be doing to serve the Lord, my family, my neighbors, and the Church. The Bible is pretty clear on the importance of handing down a spiritual inheritance as well as a material one (Psalm 78:6; Proverbs 13:22).
There are several verses that address how to speak to and respect an older person. 1 Timothy 5:1-2 stand out: “Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.” And, Leviticus 19:32, “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.”
But then, there is Proverbs 16:31: “Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.”
This respect and honor we are called to give to the older people in our lives does not come without a price to them. The “crown of glory” (which would indicate a certain level of honor being due the person) is achieved only by a righteous life.
In His grace God has poured out His Spirit on those who love Him so that we can be righteous by the shed blood of Christ. Because we will sin as descendants of Adam, we have to think about what the “righteous life” looks like for us. Obviously, God does not expect perfection but what does He expect of the “older” Christian woman?
From Titus 2 we know He does expect us to teach the next generation. He leaves a list of seven things covering a broad spectrum of what we are to teach:
- Love their husbands
- Love their children
- To be discreet
- To be chaste
- To be homemakers
- To be good
- To obey their husbands
As I look at that list, I can think of the woman I would love to have taught me to love my husband because of the way she loves hers. I wish I had had someone to teach me to raise my children like another friend of mine did hers. There are women with “homemaking” skills that I am not sure I am even capable of but they could surely teach someone who is interested (things like sewing, gardening, preserving food, home decor, etc.).
It seems to me that if we (older Christians) want the honor the Bible talks about toward the elderly then we need to figure out what the “righteous life” looks like for us. It is clearly not a time to sit in our rockers and shake our heads at what has happened in the Church of Jesus Christ. It is time to get ourselves out there (even if it is on an internet class) and teach younger women how to teach the next younger generation to live that “righteous life.” We will, thereby, help others to achieve that “crown of glory” they will receive for their righteous living.
As we watch our skin get “crepey” and the rest of our body aging, what could we prepare to do or teach? Will we take the initiative to invite some younger women to learn?
It is our responsibility.