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Have older people any value?

Does church value it’s elderly?

If you are the kind of person that likes “old stuff”, cars, watches, coins or old books, you know that our society, values “old stuff”. For exemple, on Ebay, an Oldsmobile 88, that was “born”/made in 1957, costs $95.000, in spite of the fact that is 61 year old car. Another good example is a Ford Roadster, made in 1932, for which you need to pay $40.000 if you want to have it as “a member” of your family. Another even better exemple is, a historic night at Christie’s in New York, Salvator Mundi, a depiction of Christ as ‘Saviour of the World’ by one of history’s greatest and most renowned artists, non other than Leonardo da Vinci, sold for $450,312,500 becoming the most expensive painting ever sold at auction. A painting that is 518 years old. The proverb: “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, must be true for the same painting was consigned to a 1958 sale at Sotheby’s where it sold for £45. And the list with “valuable” “old stuff”, go on and on.

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The elderly have so much to offer. They're our link with history..they have the experiences that youth lack!

Paradoxily, when it comes to old people, our society have a different standard to evaluate the value of people. Let’s face it: our society by and large does not value old people as it should! This quote from the Forbes Magazine is on point: “The moniker “senior citizen” tends to cast a shadow that suggests a “less-than” quality, particularly one of dependence. The “older person” should be a symbol of strength and a repository of treasured experiences and wisdom”. What the Bible says about old people is in a very stark contrast with the values of our society. For exemple: “Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days” (Job 12), “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” (Leviticus 19), just to mention a few Bible verses. It is very sad to see many churches that pretend to follow the teachings of the Bible, but in reality when it comes to elderly, the actions are proving to opossite. In an article titled: Have Churches Abandoned the Elderly?, Stephen Mattson, sumarises very good the “christian” attitude toward elderly saying: “In an evangelical Christian climate obsessed with change, cultural trends, and trying to stay up-to-date and relevant, it's easy to undervalue the elderly. The bestselling authors, the hottest worship bands, the superstar conference speakers, and megachurch pastors are all youngish, or at least certainly not elderly, and they’re mainly marketed towards younger to middle-aged audiences. In many ways, Christians have suffered from the sin of apathy, being guilty of ignoring a large segment of believers: the elderly… Jesus continually reached out to people where they were at, no matter how awkward, hard, or painful it was. Christ calls us to serve and love everyone. Are we?”.