At Northbrook Church, we’ve been walking through the Proverbs all summer long. I hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as I have. I know that I have learned some things I never knew before and re-learned some things that I might have forgotten.

I should be honest. I really didn’t know that the Proverbs speak so much to aging. But I was very happy to be able to share some of those truths with you. Remember, proverbs are things that are un understood to be generally true. So what is generally understood to be true about growing older?

In our culture, it’s generally understood that ageing is a negative. We have “anti-aging” lotions and medications. We have botox and hair care products that promise to turn the clock back. Why is that? Because we have a culturally distorted view of aging.

Within the realm of the world, growing older sometimes means being slower, both physically and mentally. It might even mean getting in the way. It could be a headache and a problem.

But within the realm of God’s Word, it’s the exact opposite. Our faith offers us a better way to live and age in a culture that worships at the fountain of youth. A way that gets beyond the stereotypes of aging

Proverbs 20:29

²⁹ The glory of young men is their strength,

gray hair the splendor of the old.

Proverbs 16:31

³¹ Gray hair is a crown of splendor;

it is attained in the way of righteousness.

To come to that way of thinking, turning from culture and toward God’s understanding of aging, takes learning what it really means to grow older. We need to see it as a very natural and normal part of our spiritual journey. It’s expected. God never intended us to live forever here on this earth in these bodies. Aging is all part of his great design.

So if you’re younger and mock those who are older, look out. You’re on your way to being older. In fact, you’re older now than when you started reading this blog post!

But it can also cause other problems. Researchers have found that those who had a negative view of the elderly while younger experienced an increase in health problems and decreased mental capacity later in life. They despised the old, but then became what they despised.

One of the guiding values of Northbrook is, “Generations need each other.” The older need the younger, but the younger need the older as well. Mending that generation gap will take some work. Because we’ve been conditioned as young people against the elderly, but as older humans, we’ve been conditioned just as much to look down on the younger.

Our elders. We are trained to think they are out of touch. That they need to step aside and let us advance.

Our youth. We are trained to think that their opinions don’t matter. That they only listen to loud music and watch obnoxious shows. They don’t know enough yet!

Both of those views are dead wrong. And both of them are based on negative stereotypes. We need to shatter those stereotypes and create a new place where young and old are loved.

Whatever age you are, you are different than those younger and older than you. But you’re different. That doesn’t mean wrong. It doesn’t mean it’s a problem. It doesn’t mean better or worse. We’re just different. And we need to push into our differences and see them as gifts from God as he creates a beautiful tapestry of faith here at Northbrook.

Those of us who are younger, we need to honor those who are older. Leviticus 19:32 says, “‘Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD.” In other words, respecting those who are older than you are is how you revere God. How we treat our elders is a direct reflection of how we treat our God.

Those of us who are older, we need to respect those who are younger. That means we encourage when it’s easier to judge. That we invest when it’s simpler to ostracize. That we listen more than we correct. Remember, we were in their shoes once. How much better would our lives be if we had more voices from those older than us? How much richer our families, our ministries, if we had more people investing in us?

That’s more than just a dream, it’s a destiny. We will all get older. It’s the one thing we all have in common. And as we age, we look forward with honor and backward with respect. When we do that, we can make this world even better.