Honoring Our Elderly

​Patricia P. Driscoll and Celia Straus wrote in Hidden Battle on Unseen Fronts, “As a society, we don’t take very good care of one another. Ours is a disposable culture: our children, our elders, our ill and infirm, our natural resources are often ignored, overlooked, forgotten or mistreated.”  Did you know that respect for the elderly is tied in scripture to reverence for God? God did not make people obsolete, objects of derision or relics to be ignored or kept out of the way. We as a society have done this because collectively, we view feebleness and weakness as properties to be avoided.  We don’t wish to be reminded of the last chapters or days of life before death. We want to be strong, healthy and admired. But we see life from such a limited and sadly vain vantage.  God made life, and He made it with eternity in mind.  When we disrespect the elderly, we disrespect what He created, which is never a good practice.  ​

Meditation
Leviticus 19:32--You are to rise in the presence of the elderly and honor the old. Fear your God; I am Yahweh.
 
Whenever an older adult comes into our presence and we are seated, the polite thing to do is stand up.  In doing so, we are consciously reminded that we are in the presence of someone with more experience. We are making a statement to that person that they matter. We must teach our children to respect their elderly.  By doing so, we instill in them not just regard for a long life but a better understanding of love. 

Larry Lorenzoni says, “Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest.” Today my dad turned 90!  When I called him this morning, he sounded great. And after he got his hearing aid in, I sounded great!  I forgot to share Bob Hope’s sage observation with him: “I don’t feel old. I don’t feel anything until noon. Then it’s time for my nap.” What a blast we had reminiscing. I am grateful for the years he and my-soon-to-be-90 stepmom have shared. They make a difference in today’s world despite their lack of energy and decreased mobility. 

Dad writes five notes a day and mails them out to friends, family members, and people he cares about.  Sometimes I get the same letter he wrote previously, and I’m thrilled because he is still writing.  What matters is not the content but the heart-tent. 

Soon enough, he and mom will have a new body and be in the presence of their Savior, Jesus.  Soon enough, they will have no more cancer, pain, trouble hearing, or memory issues. Soon enough, I’ll grieve their loss. For now, I’ll thankfully stand in their honor with something to think about . . . in reveration!
 
Inspiration
The best tunes are played on the oldest fiddles.—Ralph Waldo Emerson

©2022 Daniel York  ARR.  Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause.  If you would like to receive these devotionals go to www.firstcause.org and click on the “Click here to receive weekly devotionals” box.  Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed subject to the inclusion of this copyright notice.      
 
Ecclesiastes 12:10-The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.  (Holman CSB)