Pro 20:29 The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the gray head.
There is a problem you see today. It is everywhere you look. The young man’s strong suit s supposed to be his strength. The old man’s strong suit should be his WISDOM.
The problem is that the young men don’t have or don’t use their strength and the old men have gotten old with no wisdom to show for their gray head.
The young man wants to tell the old man what to do because he thinks he is WISE ABOVE HIS YEARS. The old man doesn’t impart any wisdom to the young man. He spends all his time living in past victories and trying to tell the young man how much harder he had it when he was his age. The old man is trying to continue to GLORY IN HIS STRENGTH when he no longer has it. The young man is trying to give wisdom to the old man that he hasn’t even had time to obtain yet.
The old man needs to quit living in the past and start using his old man muscles. That is, he should use his wisdom!
Ecc 7:19 Wisdom strengtheneth the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city.
Wisdom is actually better than strength anyways! You can’t keep your muscles but you can retain wisdom until you die.
I’m certainly not old enough to have obtained a great amount of wisdom as someone who is in their 60s and lived 30 years as a King James Bible believer.
It’s not my place to tell an older Christian what to do unless they ask me. It’s not my place to tell an old lost man what to do…outside of giving him the gospel.
For example a man who is in his fifties and twenty something years older than me said…why are you reading a “KING JAMES BIBLE”..you know they make the Bible in ENGLISH NOW. I didn’t rebuke him. I didn’t correct him. I just said “I believe the King James Bible is the word of God.” He is old enough to know better. Most times they are old enough to be “set in their ways.” It’s not my place to give unsought advice to a much older Christian. Not only has the man been saved longer but he has lived longer. It’s not my place to give him wisdom. He let wisdom pass him by as he has wasted the gift of time.
You don’t want to get up in your sixties and seventies without any wisdom to give to young people.
A lot of older men will spend all their time talking about how hard they had it, how tough they was, how brave and strong they were. They talk down to the younger guys like they have it easy. Which maybe they do but how does this impart wisdom to the younger man? The truth is the old men with wisdom are few and far between and they have to continue to live in the glory daze.
Joe 1:2 Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?
Joe 1:3 Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.
The truth is that even if your up in your sixities it isn’t too late for you to GET WISDOM!
Jas 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
If your sixty and you live up into your seventies that gives you 10 plus years of getting on fire for God as a prayer warrior! Anyone can pray.
If your up in your sixities and you have never read the Bible…start now! If you read it once a year you could still read it 10+ times before you leave this world. You can still get wisdom.
There are still some OLD MEN with wisdom. And not just “worldly wisdom” but biblical wisdom. These are men you should listen to as a young person. Dont think that you know more than the old man.
1Ki 12:6 And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people?
1Ki 12:7 And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.
1Ki 12:8 But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him:
Rehoboam ended up with the kingdom split because he “forsook the counsel of the old men.”
You dads need to be “training up your child in the way he should go”
Pro 17:6 Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.
Your children and grandchildren that are successful in the LORD will turn out to be YOUR CROWN.
I work with a lot of people that about about 8 to 10 years younger than me and a lot of people 20 to 30 years older. I noticed the young men think they know so much more than the old men. They tell them what to do.
I train a lot of people on my job and the trainees come in and try to show me a better way to do it! People are unteachable these Days. They think they are privileged. They think that they need to be your boss and have the benefits of someone who has worked at the plant for 30 years. When I work with the older men , who are old enough to be my father, I treat them as if they were! Even if I don’t agree with what they are saying. My job is to work.
1Ti 5:1 Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;
Most times you only hear the phrase “respect your elders.” But the Bible teaches to also treat the young men right. The young men shouldn’t look down on the old men and the old men shouldn’t look down on the young men.
Lev 19:32 Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I amthe LORD.
A lot of times the young guys will sit and make fun of the older man because of his age! While it all might be fun and games it comes off a bit disrespectful. Whether the old man has gathered any wisdom over the years or not he is still FULL OF YEARS. He is been through a lot of troubles by that point in his life. He has earned the right for some respect for that reason.
If a man has put in 30 plus years at a factory and the young guy comes in off the street…the old man has the seniority factor, he has the age factor, he’s got the experience factor. He should be first in line to make the decisions. The young men need to know their place. When I’m working with someone older, especially fi they have been there longer, I follow their lead. Don’t be unteachable. Don’t be one of these people that can’t submit to authority.
Now there are occasions where I train a new person who is a lot older…in that situation they have to listen to me. But it can still be done in a respectful manner.
As a young man your strength is your PHYSICAL STRENGTH. Wisdom is better than physical strength. That is the strength of the OLD MAN who has redeemed his time. While your young you need to be building wisdom.
Ecc 12:1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth,
Pro 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
If your not learning and asking for wisdom than your just getting dumber. Your mind is constantly forgetting so you need to be constantly learning. If you use your time wisely now than when your up in your 60s you can give BIBLICAL wisdom to the younger generation coming up. Not the “back when I was young we did this and this and this.” Thot is a pride fest.
Even though your older, try to never stop using your physical strength. You’ll never be like you were as a young man, but if you don’t use your strength after you retire than it will be less opportunity for you to get around to impart to them any wisdom. You’ll be bed ridden when you get further up in age. Even though physical strength is no longer your REAL STRENGTH, that doesn’t mean it should be neglected. Bodily exercise profiteth little Paul says, but it does profit a little.
1Ti 4:8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
Job 26:3 How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom? and how hast thou plentifully declared the thing as it is?
Job 26:4 To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee?
When you get to the judgment seat of Christ one of the questions will be “how hast thou counsel led him that hath no wisdom?”
Once I heard a much older woman telling a young girl to “never get married.” She said it’s the worst decision of your life. This crazy woman said this to the girl that I married! That is horrible advice. Just because you married an idiot doesn’t mean she will. That’s bad wisdom.
I’ve heard a lot of older people say “never have children.” That’s bad wisdom.
I’ve heard older people influence the younger person to get a divorce! Once again bad wisdom.
