Senior citizens who follow God deserve a great deal of honor. While our culture highly values youth, according to Proverbs 16:31, the gray hair of an older individual is a crown of glory, if the individual is living a righteous life.
What is honor? Honor means to treat with respect or favor. Why should we honor the elderly? Honoring the elderly is not just a matter of good manners or following the norms of society. Honoring our elders is a statute of God, which is recorded in Leviticus 19:32:
“32Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD.” (NIV)
Therefore, one reason that we should honor the elderly is because God commands us to do so.
Another reason that we should honor senior citizens is because of their wisdom, which they have gained through years of experience. They have had had the time to see the effects of good and evil and have learned to see the likely results of their decisions. They have learned to make good judgments quickly from their experiences of making poor judgments and learning from their mistakes. Physical exercise leads to physical strength. Likewise, exercising one’s senses to discern good and evil leads to the spiritual strength found in the senior citizens who obey God.
One of the 10 Commandments is to honor our father and mother. In I Timothy 5:1-2, the apostle Paul instructed the young evangelist Timothy that he should not rebuke an older man and that he should treat older women as though they were his mother.
“1Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;
2The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.” (KJV)
An example of how a younger man honored older men is contained in Job 32:1-7:.
“1So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
2Then was kindled the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the kindred of Ram: against Job was his wrath kindled, because he justified himself rather than God.
3Also against his three friends was his wrath kindled, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.
4Now Elihu had waited till Job had spoken, because they were elder than he.
5When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, then his wrath was kindled.
6And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid, and durst not shew you mine opinion.
7I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom.” (KJV)
According to Adam Clarke’s Commentary, there was no doubt a great disparity in the ages between Elihu and Job and his three friends. The older generation was presumed to have more wisdom than did younger individuals. Elihu said that the older generation should teach wisdom.
One of the ways the elderly can teach wisdom is by setting a good example. By being humble, teachable, and honoring the elderly, they can better fulfill their role in teaching younger people in a more direct manner as described in Titus 2:1-5:
“1But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:
2That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
3The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
4That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
5To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.” (KJV)
In today’s society, senior citizens are often not treated with the respect they deserve. Indeed we can read many stories in the newspaper about the crime of elder abuse. However, during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ, the elderly will be treated with honor and respect as sown in Zechariah 8:4-5:
“4Thus saith the LORD of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.
5And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.” (KJV)
In the Kingdom of God, parents will teach their children to respect their elders. Children and the elderly alike will dwell in Jerusalem in peace.
The elderly who serve God deserve honor today, tomorrow, and every day.
Alan D. Campbell lives in Brandon, Florida. For more good news, see his blog The Good News of the Kingdom of God at http://goodnewsofthekingdomofgod.blogspot.com
