By Gary Weedman
Let”s face it. We live in a culture that exalts youth. Just look at the ads on TV. The only time you see an old person is when he or she is advertising another colored pill that will actually help you “feel young again.” Or, if you use this product, you”ll “look years younger.”
Yet, there”s a certain irony, because the population in our nation is aging. The number of Americans 65 and older will double in the next 25 years. By the year 2030 there will be 71 million of us “senior citizens.” That”s one out of every five in the country. And these “elderly” are the healthiest, longest-lived, best-educated, and most affluent at any time in our history.
Sociologists call this phenomenon “the third age.” There is childhood, middle age, and “the third age,” or “my time.” Many now live one-third of their lives in retirement. With more control over their time, many see retirement as a time to be more active and involved, start new activities, and set new goals. Last year 50 percent of Americans 55 years and older volunteered with some nonprofit agency. Perhaps even more remarkable, 43 percent of those 75 and older volunteered. The likelihood of a 65-year-old reaching 90 has doubled over the last 40 years. Today”s 70-year-old is yesterday”s 50-year-old.
The church must be prepared to respond to this graying of America. In addition to the already existing “golden oldies” programs of many congregations, the church needs to help these “third-agers” see their opportunity and responsibility to serve the church and the world. In many ways they are more freed for ministry than ever before.
Of course, there is always the temptation to sit back and let the “young” folks do the work. After all, many elderly have already made significant contributions to the church. They have served in leadership roles, given much money, and reared their families in the church. If they don”t say the words out loud, they may still believe them: “Now it”s time to let the younger folks have their turn.”
Don”t Strut About the Past
Even the apostle Paul was ambivalent about growing older. He revealed it in his letter to the Philippians. He wrote from a Roman prison, and he did not know his ultimate fate there. He wrote that “living is Christ and to die is gain” (1:21). And he realized that now that he was in prison and perhaps facing death, others had taken up the cause (Philippians 1:12-18). It might very well be the end of his life on this earth.
He had devoted a good part of his adulthood to ministry for the church. He was the “apostle to the Gentiles.” He had established churches throughout much of the Gentile world. He could well have rested on his laurels. He said, “If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless” (Philippians 3:4-6).
And yet, he saw he could still be valuable to the church: “It is more necessary for you that I remain in the body” (Philippians 1:24).
We all know a number of senior adults who realized they had a contribution to make in their “third age” years. Colonel Harlan Sanders took his first Social Security check at age 65 and started Kentucky Fried Chicken. Ronald Reagan was 69 when first elected president and 78 when he left office. Winston Churchill, who led Great Britain through World War II, was 65 when elected prime minister.
In our own fellowship, Ben Merold, at 65, moved from a large church in California to a much smaller church outside St. Louis and led it to a megachurch status; he”s still going strong at 81. Joe McCormick, former director of development at Milligan College, was working into his 90s there. The ultimate optimist, he purchased a new car and negotiated a multiyear warranty. A lot of older folks didn”t think it was over just because they had accomplished something in midlife.
But some may be on the other end of the continuum. They may be in the “third age” not having accomplished much. They”ve made bad mistakes and exercised poor judgment. In the autumn of their lives the clouds cover any good work they may have done.
Paul”s point is that the past””good or bad””need not determine the quality of our lives for the present. In fact, he says he counts his past””as great as it is””as a loss (3:8). He uses a term from accounting””a “liability.” It is not so much that he discounts who he was. Rather, compared to the glory of living under the lordship of Jesus, it is of no importance to him. It does not define who he is.
Keep on Striving for the Present
Instead, he says, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (3:13, 14). At the end of his life in a Roman prison, he has not given in to his circumstances. He is resolved to keep striving for the goal.
With a moment”s reflection, though, we should ask Paul about this advice. If what I did yesterday is as a “liability,” why am I worried about doing good deeds today? Will what I do today be nothing more than a “liability” tomorrow? If so, why “press on”? Why all this talk about striving if the results don”t matter?
It”s the same question the elder brother of the prodigal asked (Luke 15:11-32). I suspect many in the church, especially older folks, identify with him. He had done his duty: stayed home, worked hard, and looked after his father. That sounds like many older people I know in the church. Yet, all this seemed to be for naught. As he returned from his work, he sees the evidence of a party for his prodigal brother, one to which he apparently was not even invited. The money spent on this party was actually to be his; the prodigal had already spent his part of the inheritance. The brother”s reaction is quite understandable.
It is tempting for us “senior saints” to respond in similar ways. What the elder brother had to learn was a slogan that I heard at a recent academic conference: “Every journey has an end, and the end is the journey.” His value to the father was not what he had done for the father. Rather, it was the journey they shared at the moment. He wanted to find his value by looking to the past.
On May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister became the first man in history to run a mile in less than 4 minutes. Within two months, John Landy eclipsed the record by 1.4 seconds. On August 7, 1954, the two met for a historic race. As they moved into the last lap, Landy held the lead. It looked as if he would win; but, as he neared the finish, he was haunted by the question, “Where is Bannister?” As he turned to look, Bannister took the lead. Landy later told a Time magazine reporter, “If I hadn”t looked back, I would have won!”
Paul concludes his reflection on aging by saying, “Therefore let those of us who are “˜mature” embrace this point of view.” Here”s the point: this message is much harder for the young to understand. It seems that, by the very nature of being young, they think they are valued by deeds. But the glorious message of the gospel is that we “mature” ones can know the Christian life is one of striving and not resting on our good deeds.
Gary Weedman is president at Johnson Bible College, Knoxville, Tennessee.
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