Gray, Not Old

 

Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life. Proverbs 16:31

 

Working as a hospital discharge planner, I had a lot of opportunity to interact with the elderly. I, apparently, formed an unconscious habit of raising my voice so they could hear me when I spoke.

Upon entering a new patient’s room, I would always introduce myself (loudly) and give them a brief explanation of why I was there. Most often, they were happy for help and we moved on.

One day, at the end of my little introductory spiel, the elderly, female patient lifted her eyes to mine and said, “I’m old, not deaf.”

Message received. I lowered my voice.

Attitude is everything. In our Western culture gray hair indicates “old.” (Kind of like I thought “old” indicates “hard of hearing.”) Sadly, “old” also seems to indicate “done.”

When people are counted as old, they are counted as a liability….if not to the family, then to society. The elderly seem to be treated as an economic problem. There is a pressure to retire by the age of 65, get on government assisted health insurance and social security, and move to the sunny south (some friends call it “God’s waiting room”) so they will be out of the way of progress. There, the elderly are welcomed to live a life of leisure until the Lord takes them home.

Sometimes, in a less than perfect faith moment, I will wonder why God didn’t “wake me up” to His truths earlier in my life. Recognizing the pride in that thought, and that it reveals a bad attitude as I, too, apparently think I could do more if I were younger.

In God’s Providence, in the last few years He has opened my eyes to serious problems in His Kingdom that need the kind of work that gray haired women can be at work in:

• A lack of biblical teaching
• Abandonment of widows and orphans
• A lack of hospitality
• State rule/law considered higher than God’s Law
• The demise of the family

James 1:22 tells us to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. Paul confirms this in Romans 2:13, “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.” There is no statute of limitations on these words.

Older women, wherever you may choose to live, will you teach the younger women (Titus 2:3-5)? Is there a widow (even if you are a widow) who you could come alongside of and encourage or help (Deuteronomy 14:29)?

Is there enough Bible knowledge in us to point others who are younger, or younger in the faith, to the Sovereignty of God in our lives, so that others will begin to pass on this legacy of faith, boldly and without hesitation?

By the grace of God, we may be at an age where our hair has turned gray (whether or not we choose to cover it), but, we do not have to be “old” as defined by our culture.

If  “gray, not old” describes you, there’s work to do. Let’s be an example to the next generation of how to do it.