Fools No Longer, Please

As I sit in my living room this morning, I am overcome with gratitude for a small group of dear praying friends. It is bringing to mind something I've been thinking about lately as most of these friends could be old enough to be my mother. It is the waning respect of a generation for all that is older and wiser. It is the lack of honor given to those who have paved the way. It is the foolishness of believing that those who don't squeak with the newness of the latest Apple gadget are irrelevant. It is the blindness that only sees 'my way or the highway.' It is the work of the enemy.
I have sat in church meetings. CHURCH meetings. Where those deemed older were politely dismissed. Ideas swept away. Disregarded. Dishonored. I've watched this incredulously knowing that the older could work circles around the well-meaning younger. I'm barely fifty and I have felt it done to me by those who could be called my son or daughter. A laugh. A good-natured, "Oh, Dee." I have felt their belief that I am irrelevant down to my toes. Nevermind, that I have been in their shoes. Never mind that I have fallen and gotten up too many times to count building character and wisdom. I'm still irrelevant. 
We celebrate youth. It's where it's at. Plastic surgery is at an all time high. Potions, lotions, and creams promising backward aging fly off the shelves. Even men can dye their hair and beards. The young are hired for jobs as the wise, intelligent, experienced and reliable 60 year old is left flailing. The 70 year old who can't operate the TV remote is a laughing stock even though he could handle a crisis with his eyes closed. Churches are hiring the new and young with their skinny jeans, black fitted t-shirts, and great ideas for how to get the pews packed. The older are quietly pushed out to make way for the new and young. Because the new and young are where it's at. That is, until we begin to plummet like a team of horses who didn't bother to see the cliff ahead because we were so impressed with our newly shoed hooves. It's a big mistake. I've made it about others and others have made it about me. I don't write to stir anger or get a riled crowd. I write this so we can be better and wiser.

Here are some scriptures to consider:

"A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion." 
Proverbs 18:2
"A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds back."
Proverbs 29:11
"Claiming to be wise, they became fools."
Romans 1:22
"The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice."
Proverbs 12:15
"Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days."
Job 12:12
"Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future."
Proverbs 19:20
"The King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, "How do you advise me to answer this people?"
1 Kings 12:6
"Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you."
Deuteronomy 32:7
"Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or to be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good. These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in the their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. They will not bring shame on the word of God."
Titus 2:3-5
"Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'
1 Peter 5:5

There is a ton of wisdom in those scriptures and there are many more that speak on this topic. Clearly, GOD HAS SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT IT AND WE WOULD ALL DO WELL TO PAY ATTENTION! His instructions are always motivated by His love for us. We are better people when we give honor to those older than us. It just makes sense. God always makes sense. 

But, I speak from personal experience as I give thanks to God this morning for a group of older and wiser women who have prayed me through some of my darkest moments and greatest joys. They are a treasure to me. Sometimes, the prayers were going out before the break of dawn and would continue throughout the day. They have been warriors for me, interceding on my behalf countless times. They have strengthened me as a woman, wife, and mother. They have pointed me upward, always. They have given me hope when I didn't feel any. I have shared secrets, humiliations, and cries from my heart. My marriage is better because of them. My faith is deeper. They have a wealth of experience between them and I want that and NEED it. They have loved me unconditionally.

I'm at this rather unique place in my life where most all of my friends are older while my co-workers are quite young. My core is small. I don't know how it happened but it did over time and I'm okay with it. God always has us where He wants us and where He can use us. But, we need to get back to a place where we begin to SEE, honor, and respect how extraordinary our elders are. We need them and they need us as well. They are more relevant now than ever before (in my humble opinion)! And Church, we have to get better at this. It is NOT all about us. I cringe at the folly of it. It is not our way or the highway. It's a sure way for a ministry to get tripped up and for a church's foundation to crack. It's time to start listening and rereading those God-breathed scriptures given to us for a reason. A reason motivated by a loving Father who knows BEST.