A restaurant chain was
supporting the military veterans by offering a free meal last night. When I got
there, the place was packed out like sardines in a can. It reminded me of
military life, “Hurry up and wait.” My party was canceled on me while I was en route to the restaurant. So, I was going solo. Prior to finally being seated, I
told the host that I was a party of one, and I didn’t mind eating with someone
else if they were willing to allow me to join them.
I had the distinct
honor of dining with a sweet older couple, Ray and Linda. He had served in the
Navy and was sent to Pearl Harbor in 1944 when he was eighteen. If you recall,
Pearl was attacked by Japan on Dec 7, 1942. Ray said that Pearl Harbor “was
still hot” when he was there. Ray is three months older than my Dad who is
still living as well.
Talking with Ray was
like going back in time unlike talking to my Dad. He had been a pastor,
evangelist, and still a professional musician on an evangelistic circuit! He is
like the energizer bunny. There is a sparkle in his eye when he talks about his
music, but a steely look is detected when he talks about church life. I gathered quickly that he didn’t like worship being on a time frame, the kind of music
being played today, and feeling disenfranchised for being old! Hmm. The only
time I detected sadness in his eyes was when he talked about how the older
generation is being treated as irrelevant. He said, “We have the money, but the
church is investing only in the future of the youth.”
Like most older
saints, he felt as if life had passed him by. I reminded him that every
generation feels its own growing and dying pangs. It can be exhilarating and
exasperating in the polarities. Since I am older and graying, I experience the same feeling of a spirit of dismissal
by the younger generations toward the older generations, sensing the same feelings of irrelevancy, valid or not, of being considered a fossil with an opinion that carries no weight. It only proves that dinosaurs are still living among humanity!
It is as if the
churches in general that are striving for relevancy are communicating the same
message to seniors, “Give your money and get out of the way for the future
because we know what’s best!” Is it possible for churches, in general, striving
to be relevant in our culture are inadvertently causing others to feel
irrelevant and deprived of a voice within the church?
I reminded this aged saint that if the Lord
doesn’t return until the next century, the youth today will arrive at our
point now if they are privileged to live that long and see how they like being
considered outdated and considered irrelevant. I asked him if he ever felt that people were thinking,
“Why don’t you quit taking up oxygen and die in order to clear the way for others?” He nodded his
head in affirmation.
I am of the opinion
that the older generation has to take responsibility for projecting a spirit of
resistance, inflexibility, and complaining when it comes to change. Cemented feet go nowhere. They have
characterized themselves as “grumpy,” not all, but that is a general perception.
Growing up in Florida around retirees I can attest to that!
I suspect the
seniors in our youth felt the space between them and the seniors of their day, that dreaded
generational gap syndrome. Seniors seem to be emboldened to be brazen in their
opinions. Do inhibitions decline with age, or is that simply evidence of the swelling of cynicism,
pessimism, and negativism in the heart over time? Growing up in Florida I
realized that older people are either sweet or sour with no in-between. There
is not a psychologist on earth that could convince me any differently (having a senior moment?).
Seniors of all ages should be living in the now and not dwelling on
the “good old days,” but that is simply my opinion. Maybe seniors are too
anchored in the past and should be grabbing Rom 8:28 by the horns and looking
toward the future; there’s certainly good reason for that, Jesus’ return! There
are no good old days; that is only an illusion of the good old days. What is important is what good
we can make of the here and now in the land of the living, practicing the
presence of Christ, moving forward and upward, not with a retiring spirit but a
serving spirit glorifying God until the day we are raptured or called home via R.I.P.
There is no retirement in service for the Lord, giving all until there is nothing left to give. That sentence is not generally an embraced idea!
We don’t quit being a
witness because we are retired! We don’t quit praying, studying, meditating,
giving, and worshiping because we are no longer working full-time! That is the
spirit of the world concerning retirement; it’s all play, doing the things you
couldn’t do when it was all about work. It can be a spiritually destructive
path of self-entitlement. “I earned it! I deserve it! I have already put in my
time for God! Let someone else do it now!” I have seen the trajectory of
that retirement mentality that translated into an unsatisfied, shorter
lifespan. The world is asking what's in your safe? I get that, but more
importantly, what's in your heart?
As long as any of us
are breathing as believers, God has a purpose for us. Off the top of my head, the great command appears automatically. I can immediately think of three
general purposes for every believer that would enrich the great command to love
God with the totality of our being and love our neighbors as ourselves: learn
the Word, love the Word, and live the Word. Living a Word-driven life as long
as we are breathing is the only way to go. It is not predicated on what man has
to say about our life: good, bad, or indifferent, but what does the Word have to say about
it?
It’s not about being
old and feeling the absence of inclusion in private or public. It is about
continuing to invest in the will of God for our life in the here and now until
He calls us home in spite of the circumstances. This is what we carry over into
every season of our life until the seasons are over once and for all; eternity has
no seasons! Relevancy only comes in and through knowing and doing God’s will
for our life, pleasing Him, not man, until we are “outta” here!
Ray invited me to a
service this Friday where he will be playing as part of the worship service. Do
the math, Ray was born in 1926. His wife claims that Ray still plays a mean
upright bass. I think I will go to see a super senior saint strike a chord for
Jesus. Ray swears there is nothing like it being around old-timey Gospel
music. He told me, “I have played with the best; now, I didn’t say I was the
best, but I played with the best.” “Ray,” I asked, “if you played with the
best, wouldn’t you have to be pretty good yourself?” He didn’t answer; his
smile and sparkly eyes betrayed his self-confidence, and the respectful smile
of his wife confirmed it. It was a neat humility.
It will be refreshing
to hear substantive spiritual truth in lyrical form. No matter how old we may
be, a new song, a sweet song comes only from a thankful heart for what God has
done for us no matter how old that heart may be. When we lose sight of God, our
song goes sour. This is the music we need to be concerned over…
God has done so much
for us! His goodness to us can only make us sing a new song when we think about it, fresh
expressions of praise to Him for our daily benefits! What’s in your thoughts, a
sweet or sour song? What is your current song telling others about you? <><
Read the words of the
Psalmists,
Psa 33:3 Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully
with a shout of joy.
Psa 40:3 He has put a new song in my mouth – praise to our God; many will see it and
fear, and
will trust in the LORD.
Psa 96:1 Oh, sing to
the LORD a new
song!
Sing to the LORD, all the earth.
Psa 98:1 A Psalm. Oh,
sing to the LORD a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His
right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.
Psa 144:9 I will sing a new song to You, O God; on a harp of ten strings I will sing
praises to You,
Psa 149:1 Praise the
LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, and His
praise in the assembly of saints.
“In
everything [good or bad, a
tough addition] give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ
Jesus for you.” 1 Thes 5:18
Thot: the absence of a
new song reveals only bitter notes.
%20MG%20t-bkgrd%2060x44%20png.png){kind=small}
%20sunflower%2045x63%20png.png){kind=small}
