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"THE WISDOM OF THE AGED"
(Grandparents and Senior Citizens Day)
(Deuteronomy 5:15-16; I Timothy 5:1-4)
(Delivered September 8, 2002)

The Scripture says,"Rise in the presence of the aged, show
respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the Lord. "
(Lev. 19:32).

Our culture is not as respectful of the elderly as it should be.
Our media constantly extols youth and encourages us to deny our
age. Children and teens and even adults often raise their
eyebrows and ridicule those who give advice or recall the "olden
days." That's unfortunate, because older people are not useless and senile.
They have wisdom that can be obtained no other way. Think about
this: That 70 year old has been 10 years old and 20 years old
and 40 years old; but that 10 year old and 20 year old and 40
year old has never been 70! That's why "The wisdom of the aged"
is justified and valuable.

Winston Churchill, at age 65 became British Prime Minister
for the first time and led the epic struggle against
Hitler. At age 80, he returned to the House of Commons as a
member of parliament and also exhibited 62 of his paintings.

Golda Meir, at age 71, became Prime Minister of Israel.

Cardinal Angelo Roncalli, at age 76, became Pope John XXIII and
inaugurated major changes in the Roman Catholic Church.

Grandma Moses, at age 80, had her first one-woman art exhibit,
and was still painting at age 100.

Benjamin Franklin, at age 81, skillfully mediated between
disagreeing factions in the US Constitutional Convention, which
gave us our form of government.

At 92, George Bernard Shaw wrote another play. At 91 Eamon de
Valera was president of Ireland. At 87, Konrad Adenauer was
Chancellor of Germany. At 89, Albert Schweitzer was still the
head of a hospital in Africa.

Age gives many gifts.

I. FIRST, IT GIVES EXPERIENCE.

They've lived long enough to develop a sense of humor. They can
laugh at some of the ridiculous predictions and discredit many
of the "Famous Last Words."

In the late 19th century, a Reverend Wright said, "Man will
never fly. If the good Lord had wanted us to go up in the sky,
He would have given us wings!" Yet a few years later this same
Rev. Wright's two sons, Orville and Wilbur made the first
airplane.

In 1945, Admiral Leahy declared, "The atomic bomb will never go
off; and I speak as an expert in explosives!" No doubt this
famed authority wishes he had never said those words.

One of the most amusing remarks was made by Lt. Joseph Ives in
1861, following exploration of the Grand Canyon. Ives stated
emphatically, "The Grand Canyon is, of course, altogether
useless. Ours has been the first, and will doubtless be the
last party of white men to visit this profitless locality."

Today, the Grand Canyon is one of the most popular National
Parks. In fact, so many tourists come that they're trying to
limit the number.

The elderly have lived long enough to realize that life has
surprises-age gives us experience. We need to "Show respect for
the elderly . . . (Lev. 19:32).

II. NEXT, AGE GIVES PERSPECTIVE.

They've lived long enough to get their priorities straight.
They know what's important and what's not important. Someone
asked a delightful seventy-five year old lady what made her such
a happy person. She said, "You know, it's funny. When you get
to be my age and you look back on the past, you see how much
time you wasted being concerned over things that really didn't
matter at all. After 50 years, I realized that it really
doesn't matter that my little boy left the bathroom light on, or
that my husband tracked in some mud, or that apple juice was
spilled on the carpet. I remember getting so upset over
incidents that really were inconsequential in the total scheme
of things. Now, I know that what really matters is loving God
and loving others."

Her eyes twinkled as she said, "It feels wonderful to be free
now of all the silly, stupid things I was so concerned with for
so many years."

An elderly man said, "My little daughter changed my life many
years ago when she said, 'What are you doing tomorrow?' I knew
she was asking me to spend the day with her. I was very busy,
but suddenly, catching up didn't seem all that important. I
knew something sacred was at stake in that moment.

'I don't think it's fair that you should be the only one to get
the day off,' I said. 'Why don't we both take off and spend the
whole day together.'

'I'd like that,' she said, and her face beamed. The next day we
didn't do anything life-changing. We just talked and had fun.
That night she said, 'Ya know, Dad, this is one of those
memories I'll treasure the rest of my life.'

I thought how close I came to missing that time with her. And I
realized how much I had missed over the years. Not just with
her, but with my wife, my friends and my relatives. And the
loss of those moments in the lives of the people I loved and in
my own life, made me sad."

Life is too short, and too sacred to waste. Age give us
perspective. We need to "Show respect for the elderly . . .
(Lev. 19:32).

III. THEN, AGE GIVES APPRECIATION.

They've lived long enough and suffered enough failures and
sorrows and losses to know the value of things and to be
grateful for what they have. A man said, "The summer after I
graduated, I sold all my hogs, which were a part of my FFA
project. It had taken me four years of hard work and careful
management to accumulate those hogs and now they were going to
become my dream car.

My dad picked it out, but I paid for it. It was an old maid
school teacher's car, not exactly my ideal. It didn't even have
a radio. But it was "wheels" and I took great pride in keeping
it spotless. I used wax on the rubber floor mats. I kept the
dash, the exterior and even under the hood squeaky-clean.

Understanding the cost of four years of hard work, combined with
the painful wait, had sharpened my gratitude for having an
independent source of transportation. That gratitude was
reflected in the way I cared for that car."

When things come too easy, we take them for granted. Age gives
us appreciation. We need to "Show respect for the elderly . . .
(Lev. 19:32).

IV. AGE ALSO GIVES DETERMINATION.

An elderly poet wrote:

I have dreamed up some goals that could never be reached;
I've seen them just vanish at dawn.
But I've also accomplished enough of my goals,
To make me still want to dream on.

I have had many friends who at times let me down.
I wept all alone-they were gone.
But, I've had enough friends who were faithful and true,
To make me still want to trust on.

I've had many sorrows and pains in my life.
I've had many days without song.
But I've had enough blessings and pleasures and joys
To make me still want to live on!

Age gives us determination. We need to "Show respect for the
elderly . . . (Lev. 19:32).

V. FINALLY, AGE GIVES FAITH.

A British historian, visited Russia and reported that there is a
revival of Christianity there. People asked, "How is it,
despite years of persecution and communist propaganda, that the
church still survives in Russia?"

His answer was this: "It's largely due to the grandparents." It
seems that the old people kept coming to the churches, and they
were dismissed by the communist leaders as nobodies who would
soon die out. In fact, tourists would come back from visiting
Russia and say, often disparagingly, "There are only old people
left in the church."

But, those old grandparents took their grandchildren under their
wings. They influenced them and passed their faith on to them.
The strength of the church in Russia today is largely due to the
witness of grandparents and old people who quietly cared for the
coming generations. Age gives us faith. We need to "Show
respect for the elderly . . . (Lev. 19:32).

A wonderful poem expresses the contributions of the elderly. It
says:

An old man on the long highway,
Came in the evening cold and gray,
To a chasm that was deep and wide.
Through which there flowed a swelling tide.

The old man crossed in the twilight dim.
The torrents had no fears for him.
But, he turned when safe on the other side,
And built a bridge to span the tide.

"Old man," cried a fellow traveler near,
"You are wasting time in building here.
Your journey will end with the light of day.
And never again will you pass this way.

You've crossed the chasm deep and wide,
Why build a bridge now at eventide?"
The builder lifted his old gray head,
"My friend, I need no bridge," he said;

"But on the path I've walked today,

Comes a youth whose feet must pass this way.
The chasm that was nothing at all to me,
To that young man, may a pitfall be.

He too, must cross in the twilight dim.
My friend, I am building this bridge for him."

These wonderful grandparents and senior citizens have built
bridges for us to cross and we're grateful! We need to heed the
command of the Lord to: "Rise in the presence of the aged, (and)
show respect for the elderly . . . (Lev. 19:32).

****
(Word Count:1613)

This message is from an unpublished manuscript © copyrighted by
Miles and Maralene Wesner, Idabel, OK. Please use it in any way
you think appropriate. The only thing we ask is that you give
credit for original material in published works.

My ministry has been blessed immeasurably by reading other
people's sermons. When I started preaching 54 years ago, I
waited for "inspiration" before I began my sermon preparation
(usually Saturday night, about midnight). Then, I discovered it
wasn't inspiration at all-it was sheer PANIC. I would have
welcomed this service.

Comments are always welcome. (Please indicate if you do not want
your comments to appear in New Perspectives).

Miles E. Wesner