It’s been a particularly rough month for men, especially older men who are in positions of prominence, power or influence. Revelations surrounding the moral behavior of Harvey Weinstein, Al Franken, and now, Charlie Rose has reminded us that depravity is not owned by one particular political party, social strata, or philosophical worldview. I’m not sure this is the brand of inclusiveness that the current culture has in mind when it calls for equal protection of everyone’s lifestyle.
Seems like I used to hear the phrase, “older and wiser” when speaking of its older citizens but it seems of late to be less of a obvious connection between the two. Older in fact is not synonymous with more wisdom smarts. Maybe as a culture we’re beginning to realize the consequences for years of shallow theology, rampant legalism, and poor discipleship. It’s possible that the real contentment found in godliness is no longer thought of as great gain and has been replaced by some look-alike imposter, boasting “I’ve earned this, everybody’s doing it, and anyway, I just don’t care.” As far back as I can remember, men have been called to love God, provide for their families, serve their churches, and impact the larger communities around them; all while setting aside their needs for the age of something bigger and eternal. Puritan men for example, understood their lives were short and after they secured their homeland, they educated their children, led their families in worship, and contributed to community/ church life. Were they all without weakness and sin? Of course not, but in a world where the life expectancy was short, they pursued their calling to love God and live well.
I rejoiced recently at the celebration of Billy Graham’s ninety-ninth birthday. Here is a man still able to communicate the joy of living and articulate the blessing of living as a Christ follower. And thankfully, he is not alone. My father pursued life in a quiet determination, loved my mom, trusted Christ for his salvation, and provided for his family until it was clear to him that his work was now done. The aging Apostle Paul, likely hunched over and struggling to see, labored for the cause of Christ until God called his replacement Timothy into full time service. Countless older men that I have known, in and out of vocational Christian service, continue to be spiritually productive well into their eighties and nineties and a number of them worship with me on a regular basis.
So yes, it is difficult to watch as those you would like to respect, forfeit their role of responsibility entrusted to them for the sake of their own lust and pride. But we cannot surrender our role as light bearers because a few have closed their eyes to the truth and have convinced themselves that God sees them not. Maybe the answer lies in what we really want to do and what we want to become as we get older. Maybe we need to pray more and play less. Maybe we need to read more deeply and cultivate our pursuits more carefully. Maybe we should invest our resources in another’s soul instead of my own fantasies, which, sad to say are often are played out in the lives of those we “love”, under the guise of building the future for them that we never had. Maybe those earlier saints were no smarter than us but were wiser because they had memorized more of the Bible– and the application that drives its principles home. And yes, maybe we who are the older generation now, must learn to die to self– stop commending ourselves for what we’ve done to earn our abandonment from a dying culture and commit ourselves to engaging it, if only to invest in the kingdom of God. Now, there’s a sustainable wealth management vehicle, that requires no gas.
Glad to be an older man.
MJC
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