Biblical Perspective on Aging

(Excerpted from John F. Kilner, “Aging,” Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics, Baker, 2009)

Ethical actions and attitudes toward older people flow from an understanding of who they are. Two distinctive characteristics of older people stand out at various points in Scripture.

Wisdom

First, older people are generally wise. "Is not wisdom found among the aged?" Job asks rhetorically, and "Does not long life bring understanding?" (Job 12:12 TNIV; cf. 15:l0; 32:7). “Elders” (normally elderly) are, therefore, in the best position to give good counsel based on the experience and memory of what God has done (e.g., Exod. 3:18; Deut. 32:7; Acts 15:2; 1 Pet. 5:5). In old age, people “still produce fruit” (Ps. 92:14), even if that simply means living a life of moral virtue (Titus 2:2-3) or praising God (Ps. 148:12). The more severe the limitations of old age, the greater the inspiration such examples are for the community. The mere presence of elderly people, in fact, is perhaps the best reminder that our own days will quickly pass—a reality we must learn if we are to “gain a wise heart” (Ps. 90:12). Accordingly, a family that has lost all of its elderly members has been severely punished (1 Sam. 2:31). A city with men and women of "great age" is considered blessed (Zech. 8:4).

The difference that the wisdom of elderly counsel can make is nowhere more dramatically illustrated than in 1 Kings 12 (cf. 2 Chron. 10). There, a large assembly of God's people ask King Rehoboam to lighten their harsh workload. The king consults with two groups of counselors—one of old men and one of young men. His failure to heed the wise counsel of the old men leads to the dramatic break-up of God's kingdom into the two antagonistic kingdoms of Israel and Judah! Wisdom, then, is generally presented as a function of the life experience that only elderly persons have. Because it is also the product of righteousness and God's Spirit, however, it is possible occasionally for young people to have wisdom (Job 32:8-9; Eccles. 4:13) and older people to lack it (Job 12:20).

Weakness

A second characteristic of many elderly persons—at least at some point—is that they are weak. Old age is acknowledged in Scripture as a time of suffering and vulnerability (Eccles. l2:2-5; 2 Sam. 19:35). It is a time of failing eyes (e.g., Gen. 27:1; 48:10; 1 Sam. 4:15; 1 Kings 14:4), failing feet (e.g., 1 Kings 15:23), and declining overall bodily health (e.g., 1 Sam. 4:18; 1 Kings 1:1). Knowing that insensitive people take advantage of the weakness of older people, the psalmist prays, "Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength is spent" (Ps. 71:9; cf. v. 18).

Such weakness is generally characteristic of older people but not necessarily so. Elderly people, therefore, should not automatically be written off as mentally or physically incapable simply because of their age. God often breaks through stereotypes. Who would have thought that Sarah and Abraham would have a child in their very old age (Gen. 18:11-14; 21:5-7); or that the Shunammite woman would have a baby with her elderly husband (2 Kings 4:14-17); or that the elderly Elizabeth, relative to Jesus' mother Mary, would bear a child (Luke 1:36-37)? Who would have expected Jacob to father Joseph at such an old age that Joseph became special for that reason (Gen. 37:3)? While weakness is often present in older people, it must be discovered and documented—never assumed.

Respecting

Both the wisdom and weakness of elderly people call for ethical responses, namely, respecting and protecting. We respond appropriately to wisdom by respecting it and those who possess it. Evil societies are sometimes characterized by their lack of respect for older people (Deut. 28:50; 2 Chron. 36:17; Isa. 47:6). It is an evil day when "the youth will be insolent to the elder" (Isa. 3:5), when elders are shown no respect (Lam. 5:l2). Those who are young are to resist the temptation to despise or speak harshly to those who are old (e.g., Prov. 23:22; 1 Tim. 5:1), and instead are to recognize gray hair—i.e., old age—as a crown of splendor (Prov. 16:31; 20:29).

People are to "rise before the aged," says the Lord. They are to "defer to the old" (Lev. 19:32). This particular command is one of seven commands in Leviticus 19 that ends with something like the words "I am the Lord," thereby underlining their importance by emphasizing God's authority. This command regarding elderly people adds—before those closing words—the call to "fear your God." It appears here that the connection between God and older people is special. God is not simply saying that this, like all other commands, should be obeyed. The point instead is that obedience to this command in particular expresses a special reverence for God. By showing respect for those who are elderly, we are revering God.

Protecting

If we rightly respond to wisdom by respecting people who possess it, we appropriately respond to the relative weakness of elderly people by protecting them. God is frequently portrayed in biblical writings as the protector of those who are weak (Exod. 22:22-27; Ps. 35:10; 140:12), and God's people are challenged to be the same (Prov. 31:8-9; Acts 20:35; 1 Thess. 5:14). So it is not at all surprising to find God affirming that "Even to your old age I am he, even when you turn gray I will carry you" (Isa. 46:4).

That God says "even" in old age emphasizes that, from a human perspective, it is easy to find reasons to support younger people, and that, in a world enamored with economic productivity, it is all too easy to neglect older people. King David observed this phenomenon in his day, which is why he implores God to sustain him, as he puts it, "even when I am old and gray" (Ps. 71:18 TNIV). Because God is a sustainer of those who are old, it is natural to expect that godly people will be as well (e.g., Ruth 4:15). Community is built, to the benefit of all, when the needs of some provide others opportunity to serve and to witness the blessing of being served.

Elderly people are as worthy of staying alive and even receiving lifesaving care as anyone else. In fact, whether a particular society values the wisdom and other contributions of older people or not is ultimately beside the point. All persons are God's creation in God's own image (Gen. 1:27) and are the objects of God's sacrificial love in Christ (John 3:16). God pours out the Spirit on those who are old as well as on those who are young (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17). The equal worth of all persons demands that all be respected and that those who are weak accordingly receive special protection.