Getting Old - Part III

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Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you've got to start young. - Theodore Roosevelt

For the past two days we have been looking at all of the negatives associated with getting older.  There is no denying that there are a lot of them.  And there is no denying that this is further compounded by the fact that we live in a culture that is obsessed with youthfulness.  Every day advertisers tell us that young people are better looking.  More energetic.  And have more fun.  It’s hard not to argue with most of that.  The result, however, is that those people who are older can feel out-of-touch.  Useless.  As if their lives no longer have any purpose or meaning.  That would be false.

The fact is that there isn’t enough talk about the advantages of getting older.  And there are definitely advantages.  To begin with there is a thing called experience.  Experience is something that one can only acquire with time.  The result is that the longer a person lives, the more experience they have.  This experience helps them to be able to see things as they really are.  They have been around the track a couple times and they know a thing or two about trends and fads.  That they are ‘here today and gone tomorrow’.  Experience also helps a person to achieve a certain skill level that can only be reached over time.  Think of the person who’s worked in a kitchen for 50 years.  Think they know a few things about cooking?  Of course they do!  That goes the same for such things as gardening, woodworking, parenting, repair work, and just about anything else.  The truth is that senior citizens have a lot of knowledge.  And they can pass that knowledge on to young people.  If they ask for it.  And are willing to learn from it. 

Of course, getting old also brings wisdom.  At least most of the time!  A person who is older knows a thing or two about how to deal with people since they’ve been dealing with them for a long time.  Is there anyone who knows students quite like the teacher who has 40 years of teaching experience?  Or what about the person who’s been in sales for that long?  Think they know very much about what it takes to sell a product?  Or to keep a customer satisfied?  People who are older also see the big picture.  They can quickly assess a situation and determine what course of action is best.  They also understand that many times there is more to the situation than meets the eye.  That there may be hidden agendas.  That there may be other behind-the-scene factors to consider.  Of course, with age comes the ability to separate the important from the unimportant.  Maybe it’s because they know that their days are numbered but older people like to invest their time and energy in what is going to last.  And make a difference.

And there are many other advantages of getting older: knowing who you are; having deep, personal relationships that extend several decades; being able to look over one’s life and see the achievements; having lived through a good portion of history.  So, once again, getting older is not all gloom and doom.  Just like any other stage of life, there are both advantages and disadvantages to it.  Tomorrow I want to look at how we, as Christians, ought to view getting old.

Lord, I thank you for the many things that You have given me over the years.  Experience.  Wisdom.  Perspective.  Confidence.  Relationships.  Things I did not have when I was young.  I thank you that not matter what stage of life that I am in, You are always with me.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.