Proverbs 16:31
If
our proverb is true, and I am sure it is, then I am one splendor-crowned guy!
In a society that doesn’t value gray hair, and the wisdom and experience that
can come with it, these words seem silly. We dye our gray hair. We work hard to
hide any sign of those changing follicles. Instead of bringing honor, they
bring a sense of shame. We are getting “OLD,” the pariah of our times.
So
why was gray hair seen differently during the proverb writer’s day? For
starters, the life expectancy was much shorter. They didn’t live into their
80’s as so many Americans do today. Disease and a hard way of life took their
toll.
I
think the reason our culture lost respect for older people is simple. The older
generations were wise enough to regard the follies of the 60’s and 70’s as just
that, folly. They didn’t buy into the lies that academia were propagating. They
realized that sex without marriage would lead to decline in society. They knew
that there was no such thing as “recreational” drug use, volleyball maybe, but
not drugs.
So
when the younger generations saw their rejection, they rejected the gray hair.
They rejected the wisdom and knowledge of lifetimes of living. They thought
they knew better. Political correctness pushed against millennia of wisdom. All
universal values were rejected except the value that there are no values.
This
meant that instead of learning to avoid mistakes that had been learned
previously and passed from one generation to the next, they had to make the
mistakes for themselves. This led to lots of mistakes, and costly mistakes that
could have been avoided. Divorce rates skyrocketed.
I
want to encourage each us to seek out the wisdom of the older generations. Find
people who have been successful at living a life of righteousness and volunteer
to become their mentee. Allow them to provide guidance. Give them the honor of
being your mentor. I will save you many pains.