Proverbs 23:22 Listen to your father, who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.

Aging is a fact of life, but how those who age and those around them react to it is a variable. Signs (you could say symptoms) of aging are different for different individuals, and they appear at different rates depending on genetics and environment, so it’s hard to say at what age someone might demonstrate a particular characteristic. However, we all slow down at some point. This verse addresses not those who are old, but their children, and what it says is very important. It speaks of “father” and “mother,” but what it says about each is applicable to both. In the first place, they need to be listened to. In some societies the old are venerated, probably because not so many survive to great age, but young people have a strong tendency to tune out the old. Old people have something to say! Actually, they often feel a need to talk, to be acknowledged as still valuable, and too often that is not granted to them. Recent research has shown that age indeed imparts wisdom, because even though memory problems are a well known characteristic of aging, the wealth of experience on which to base decisions is still operative, even in someone who can’t remember whether they ate breakfast. That ties in with the second half of the verse, which speaks of “despising your mother.” It is sadly common that younger generations effectively despise the old, and that is demonstrated in many ways. As older people need more and more assistance of various sorts from those who are younger, it is easy for the younger to see that as an imposition, resent it, and frankly, wish the older people would go ahead and die and get out of the way. Just a few days ago I read a research report that talked about how we can’t imagine ourselves in the future. In our minds we will always be no older than we are currently, and that greatly limits our empathy with our parents and those of their generation. That’s why we need such admonitions as this verse!

At 64, I am already older than my father was at his death, which is a strange thought every time it comes up. However, I have a good friend who is 91, so I don’t feel so old! I interact with quite a few people who are somewhat to much older than I am, as well as young­er people, of course. I am to treat all with respect, really listening to them rather than thinking of something else while they’re talking. Widows and widowers can be desperately lonely, and really need to be heard. That’s a situation I can envision, and it’s scary! If I will relate well to those around me of all ages, based on my relationship with God, then I myself will age gracefully, and be a blessing rather than a burden.

Father, I feel like You are opening new doors for me at this point, and that doesn’t feel like getting old! Help me live fully for as long as You keep me here, so that I may bless people and draw them to You, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!