I was reading along in Paul's first letter to Timothy when I came across this:
Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. (1 Tim 4:12)Clearly a mistake. Who would despise Timothy for his youth? Old people aren't particularly respected these days because we have almost exclusively a youth culture. I cannot count the numbers of shows, movies, sitcoms, etc. that are built on youth as the key players. There are lots of stories told in which the foolish adults -- parents, teachers, pastors, whatever -- are corrected by the wise children, the younger the better. Who in our society does not know that "old = stale" and "young = fresh"? Why would Timothy have to be told to not let anyone despise him for his youth? See? A glitch in the Book.
Of course, it isn't. Instead, I would argue that what we find is a glitch in modern society. According to the National Council on Aging, about 1 in 10 Americans from 60 on up have experienced some form of elder abuse. There is a problem with that statistic, however, because the estimate is that only 1 in 14 of them actually get reported. Estimates are that up to 5 million elderly Americans are abused each year. And all indications are that these numbers are on the rise. Given our current youth culture, this would seem like an obvious consequence.
As is too often the case, the world's way of thinking has also leaked into the church. At our church when our pastor left they handed out a questionnaire to find out what we want in a pastor and one of the common consensus items was, essentially, "not too old." There are churches today advertising themselves as "not your grandparents' church" because everyone knows that grandparents aren't cool and for church to be meaningful and relevant it has to be youth-oriented. I have on more than one occasion heard comments about churches that have a significant number of older members as being "on their way out." Often even in Christian church settings, the notion is "younger is better."
Scripture, unfortunately, disagrees with the world's perspective. God told Israel, "You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the LORD" (Lev 19:32). He told them, "Honor your father and your mother" (Exo 20:12) which Paul repeated (Eph 6:2). Paul told Timothy, "Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father" (1 Tim 5:1). Job said, "Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days" (Job 12:12). Solomon counseled, "Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old" (Prov 23:22). With these and others, God's Word seems clear. God intended younger people to respect and learn from older people. Is it any wonder, then, that the god of this world would seek to counter that wisdom?
A glitch in the Book? No, not at all. What we are seeing is a generation worshiping youth at the cost of years of experience and wisdom that reside in the older generation. This cannot be good for society. But, then, who would expect the father of lies to be concerned about what God thinks or what's good for society?
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