R-E-S-P-E-C-T, for the elderly

‘You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the LORD.’ (Leviticus 19:32)

This week in the Irish Times, there was an appalling article about the suspected abuse of elderly persons in a retirement home in Dublin.  One worker allegedly smacked an old man’s head into a door and then had the nerve to instruct the man to tell his visiting son that the injuries were because of a fall.  It seems that this suspect wanted his steps covered by having the innocent lie for him.  If this indeed happened, then how futile it was to attempt to hide the incident!

God says to respect those with grey hair in your midst and to fear (that is, respect and honour) Him at the same time.  If we do not honour our elders, Who will come to their defense?  The LORD.

Yeah, that’s God, the Almighty, the Great ‘I AM’.  You can try to mess with people, but you are really messing with Him…and frankly, you won’t win.  You cannot hide any sin from Him.  He can hear every lie before you even say it.  Choosing to live by evil just won’t go well with you.

In much of Western culture, we have forgotten to treasure our older citizens.  Part of this is because of our selfish, busy lives.  Our busy lives are actually because of our selfishness, most of the time, when you think about it.  What would happen if we just for once stopped taking our kids to the dance recitals, pianos lessons, soccer games, football games (ok, maybe not football games), and took the time to bond with the elderly?  What life lessons would we learn?  And I’m not just talking about going to see Grannie and Grandpa.  What if the family volunteered their time at a senior’s residence?  What new experiences would be gained by getting to know lives well lived?

Bruce and I have no children, and no brothers or sisters.  Our lives at middle age are already very full and we enjoy bonding with younger people.  But when our parents die, then we will age together, and then maybe one of us will be left alone.  Without family to care for us, what would our future be like?  How would it be, if we could have routine visits from young ones, so we could share stories and wisdom, and learn from the new perspectives of the youth around us?  It would be, I suspect, a sheer delight.

What keeps us at a distance from the seniors in our society?  Are we that afraid of infirmary or death?  Or, if no illness is present, are we too stubborn to listen and learn?  Do we have no patience?

I’m sure those of you who do treasure the older people in your life couldn’t imagine your lives without them.  If that is your experience, then good on you!  How wonderful it must be for you and I bet you have great stories to tell!

What that senior residence worker allegedly did in Ireland is heinous.  But we can abuse the elderly without voilence.  We can do so with neglect.  I’m not just talking about physical needs.  We can supply all of those and still be guilty of neglect.  I mean that we can deny them emotional and spiritual needs.  Not only is it amazing to sit and talk and laugh together, but how much more incredible would it be to pray and discuss the Lord together?  In Leviticus, it says to pay the eldery respect and to honour God.  Spending time bonding together with Him covers that pretty well!

I had the pleasure of being in a ladies Bible study group in my early thirties with a bunch of women in their 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s!  They were AWESOME!  I felt like a little kid, but in a good way.  I thought, “Listen to these gals.  They know so much, and they are so gracious to me.”  I felt so welcome and when I could not attend any longer, even years later, they still made me feel missed.

In my church, the seniors are crazy encouraging.  It’s something that I really want our teens and 20somethings to know.  For me, even in my 40s, there is nothing like a pat on the back from a spiritual Mom or spiritual Grannie to keep me going.  (I have a head full of silver-grey hair because that’s a genetic inheritance from my Ulster family.  In fact, I had my first grey hairs at 17.  But the seniors still won’t let me into their church social club…LOL!!!  It sounds like a blast!)

The Western media glorifies youth.  It sets up youth as an idol, really.  If you are 35, then you should bury yourself in the ground and wait to die…unless you want to go the Botox route.  It’s so ridiculous and we buy into that lie more than we want to admit.  If we call ourselves old and have self-disdain in our 30s and 40s, then how are we to even imagine having respect for people decades older than we?  We need to cast off the lies of the devil and put on the armour of God (Ephesians 6).  We need to put God above all things, get rid of any idol of selfishness or vanity, and then start loving ourselves and others the way He loves us.

Even the Beatles thought that love was the answer.  It is.

So, perhaps a challenge for this week is to find out how you can honour God by respecting His people.  They might be senior citizens to you, but they are still His kids.

He’s a protective Father, so do right by Him, and treat His children the way you would like to be treated.  I’m sure you will be greatly blessed.