Listening to our Elders... What We've Been Missing
So I'm reading through the book of 2 Chronicles, and I came across a vaguely familiar passage.
2 Chr. 10: 3-18
I won't paste the whole thing, but the short version of it is that the people of Israel came to King Rehoboam (son of King Solomon and grandson of King David) and asked him not to work them as hard as his father had. Rehoboam was unsure of how to respond so he told them to come back to him in 3 days and he'll give them an answer. He went to his father's advisers first and they told him that if he lessened the people's workload, they would love and serve him. I guess that wasn't good enough for him (or his ego) because he decided to ask his childhood friends for advice. They told him to work the people even harder and to be even harsher on them than his father was. He took that advice and caused all of Israel to rebel against him. He tried to send an overseer to force them to work and they killed him. Rehoboam ended up running to Jerusalem to save himself from the people's wrath. Because he did not listen to his elders, King Rehoboam ended up fleeing his own country and disgracing his father's house in the people's eyes.
I am a stickler for giving my elders the respect that they deserve. Even if I don't always agree with them, I have found it to be wise to at least hear what they have to say and seriously consider their advice. Why? Well first of all, God said to.
1 Timothy 5:1-2, 17 says "Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity... 17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching."
Ephesians 6:1-2 says " 1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”[a]
So what does this have to do with anything? Well the Bible clearly states that we are to treat our elders as parents, and that we are to honor our parents. First off, it's simply the right thing to do. We may not like it (or them) sometimes, but it's only RIGHT to give them respect and to obey them IN THE LORD. Those words are key, because they emphasize the need to understand that NO ONE can make you exempt from doing the will of God. Obviously, if someone is leading you to go against God's word, it's not right. Your first submission is always to the Father. But He gives us wise and faithful leaders who have come before us so that they can counsel us in the ways that we should proceed. That was Rehoboam's first mistake. He didn't listen.
The second reason I advocate for the respect of our elders is simply the fact that they know what they're talking about. Times change, technology changes, but basic human nature never does. King Rehoboam failed to realize this fact, and that was his second mistake. Not only did he ignore his father's advisers, but he went to his FRIENDS who knew about as much as he did! My friends and I may have different experiences, but our depth of knowledge is pretty equal, I would say. I know that going to my grandmother about a new app for an android phone would not be wise. It's new technology, and not something she has much interest or knowledge in. I also know, however, that this technology will fade and there will be something new introduced in it's place, and my knowledge of it will become obsolete. So my temporary knowledge still does not match the life lessons she has learned over a span of 6+ decades. I CAN, however, go to her on a situation that deals with spiritual knowledge, and the ways of man and know that she will hit the mark every time, and that I can carry whatever she tells me until I leave this earth because BASIC HUMAN NATURE doesn't change, and more importantly, GOD doesn't change! And these are things we can only find out as we continue to live and experience them. Rehoboam and his friends failed to realize this and they suffered because of it.
Going along with that...
Our elders realize that while human nature doesn't change, each generation does. Ecclesiastes 1:4, 9 says "One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever... The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun" So everytime we see a new fad, fashion, or frenzy, we get excited thinking it's something special, while our parents and grandparents are sitting back shaking their head, because they've seen the change in one way or another. They understand that each generation will be faced with something different, which is why it is so important for us to hold on to our humanity - something we will forget if we don't learn to hear them. Solomon's advisers tried to tell Rehoboam that he was not of his father's generation, and therefore his treatment of the people needed to match the time that he was ruling in. Before we continue, let's add some context to this tale. King Solomon had been charged with the task of building the Lord's temple. He had a job to do, and he worked the people so that it would be completed in time. Rehoboam did not have that responsibility, and therefore had no need to be as hard on the people as his father had been. Why? Because the generation he was in was not of his father's generation, and therefore the same methods didn't work. By consulting his father's advisers, Rehoboam took a step in preserving his humanity and learning how to treat the people FAIRLY and earning their support. By ignoring them and listening to his friends, he released his sense of justice and paid a hefty price for it. We have a big issue in our generation in that we assume that because our elders are not "tech savvy" they don't know anything worthwhile, when in reality, they know more than we could ever imagine.
The bottom line of all this is: God made man. He made us in His image, and charged us to be like Him. He gave us forefathers (and mothers) to show us best what to do (and sometimes what not to do) so that we can better fulfill His purpose in our lives. When we reject our elders, we reject God's commandments, and we forfeit the right to enjoy long and prosperous lives. We now live in a society where the elderly are cast aside and looked upon as useless and burdensome, when in reality, if we could just listen, they could save our lives. Why? Because God gave them to us. And He knows what's best.
2 Chr. 10: 3-18
I won't paste the whole thing, but the short version of it is that the people of Israel came to King Rehoboam (son of King Solomon and grandson of King David) and asked him not to work them as hard as his father had. Rehoboam was unsure of how to respond so he told them to come back to him in 3 days and he'll give them an answer. He went to his father's advisers first and they told him that if he lessened the people's workload, they would love and serve him. I guess that wasn't good enough for him (or his ego) because he decided to ask his childhood friends for advice. They told him to work the people even harder and to be even harsher on them than his father was. He took that advice and caused all of Israel to rebel against him. He tried to send an overseer to force them to work and they killed him. Rehoboam ended up running to Jerusalem to save himself from the people's wrath. Because he did not listen to his elders, King Rehoboam ended up fleeing his own country and disgracing his father's house in the people's eyes.
I am a stickler for giving my elders the respect that they deserve. Even if I don't always agree with them, I have found it to be wise to at least hear what they have to say and seriously consider their advice. Why? Well first of all, God said to.
1 Timothy 5:1-2, 17 says "Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity... 17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching."
Ephesians 6:1-2 says " 1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”[a]
So what does this have to do with anything? Well the Bible clearly states that we are to treat our elders as parents, and that we are to honor our parents. First off, it's simply the right thing to do. We may not like it (or them) sometimes, but it's only RIGHT to give them respect and to obey them IN THE LORD. Those words are key, because they emphasize the need to understand that NO ONE can make you exempt from doing the will of God. Obviously, if someone is leading you to go against God's word, it's not right. Your first submission is always to the Father. But He gives us wise and faithful leaders who have come before us so that they can counsel us in the ways that we should proceed. That was Rehoboam's first mistake. He didn't listen.
The second reason I advocate for the respect of our elders is simply the fact that they know what they're talking about. Times change, technology changes, but basic human nature never does. King Rehoboam failed to realize this fact, and that was his second mistake. Not only did he ignore his father's advisers, but he went to his FRIENDS who knew about as much as he did! My friends and I may have different experiences, but our depth of knowledge is pretty equal, I would say. I know that going to my grandmother about a new app for an android phone would not be wise. It's new technology, and not something she has much interest or knowledge in. I also know, however, that this technology will fade and there will be something new introduced in it's place, and my knowledge of it will become obsolete. So my temporary knowledge still does not match the life lessons she has learned over a span of 6+ decades. I CAN, however, go to her on a situation that deals with spiritual knowledge, and the ways of man and know that she will hit the mark every time, and that I can carry whatever she tells me until I leave this earth because BASIC HUMAN NATURE doesn't change, and more importantly, GOD doesn't change! And these are things we can only find out as we continue to live and experience them. Rehoboam and his friends failed to realize this and they suffered because of it.
Going along with that...
Our elders realize that while human nature doesn't change, each generation does. Ecclesiastes 1:4, 9 says "One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever... The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun" So everytime we see a new fad, fashion, or frenzy, we get excited thinking it's something special, while our parents and grandparents are sitting back shaking their head, because they've seen the change in one way or another. They understand that each generation will be faced with something different, which is why it is so important for us to hold on to our humanity - something we will forget if we don't learn to hear them. Solomon's advisers tried to tell Rehoboam that he was not of his father's generation, and therefore his treatment of the people needed to match the time that he was ruling in. Before we continue, let's add some context to this tale. King Solomon had been charged with the task of building the Lord's temple. He had a job to do, and he worked the people so that it would be completed in time. Rehoboam did not have that responsibility, and therefore had no need to be as hard on the people as his father had been. Why? Because the generation he was in was not of his father's generation, and therefore the same methods didn't work. By consulting his father's advisers, Rehoboam took a step in preserving his humanity and learning how to treat the people FAIRLY and earning their support. By ignoring them and listening to his friends, he released his sense of justice and paid a hefty price for it. We have a big issue in our generation in that we assume that because our elders are not "tech savvy" they don't know anything worthwhile, when in reality, they know more than we could ever imagine.
The bottom line of all this is: God made man. He made us in His image, and charged us to be like Him. He gave us forefathers (and mothers) to show us best what to do (and sometimes what not to do) so that we can better fulfill His purpose in our lives. When we reject our elders, we reject God's commandments, and we forfeit the right to enjoy long and prosperous lives. We now live in a society where the elderly are cast aside and looked upon as useless and burdensome, when in reality, if we could just listen, they could save our lives. Why? Because God gave them to us. And He knows what's best.
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