I think I need to stop whining about being forty years old (especially since I’m almost forty-one).
I’ve noticed that in some of my recent sermons and speeches I’ve been consistently making jokes about the inevitable onslaught of age and how much I do not love getting older. However, I want to make sure that I’m not subtly falling in to the snare of our culture’s obsession with youthfulness.
It’s wonderful to be young and filled with promise and potential, but it’s equally wonderful to grow up and begin walking in the reality of that potential. Today’s society worships youthfulness and decries the advancement of wrinkles and gray hair; however, the Bible views the process of aging quite differently.
- Proverbs 20:29 says, “The glory of young men is their strength, and the splendor of old men is their gray head.”
- Additionally, Leviticus 19:32 says, “You shall rise up before the gray-headed and honor the aged, and you shall revere your God.” That’s an interesting connection. One of the ways that we revere God is to show proper respect for those who bear the splendor and glory of old age.
I want to revere Him in that way.
So you can call me out on my silly anti-aging comments. I might not love the process of saying “adios” to my youth, but I love the strength and glory that awaits me in my more mature adulthood.