Go East, Young Man!

Our culture displays an obsession with the ability, beauty, and virility of youth. Somehow, in all of this obsession, we have forgotten the wisdom of age. Young people miss the examples of parents and grandparents. New couples fail to draw from the experience of more mature married couples. Young ministers often reject the insight of seasoned pastors.

The mantra is the same: “They are from another generation…they wouldn’t understand.” This is a lie of the devil.

Listen to the words of Scripture…

• “Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee” (Deuteronomy 32:7).
• “With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding” (Job 12:12).
• “The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness” (Proverbs 16:31).

My Grandpa Martin

God’s way has always been that older men teach younger men, and older women teach younger women (Titus 2:1-7). He hasn’t changed His plan. Every Timothy needs a Paul. And every Paul needs a Timothy.

How foolish to reject or neglect the models and mentors that God has given to us!

There are many things from Eastern culture that I am glad we have not kept. But there is one thing that the people of the East understood that the West has lost: they revered the aged.

Such honor is still seen in many eastern nations today. Sadly, it is rarely witnessed in our own country. This is what the West missed…and now we are reaping the results.

Perhaps we should say to the young in our day, “Go east, young man!” Learn the lesson of honor for those who have traveled the path before you, and you will learn the lessons of life from them.

• If you are an older man or woman, ask God to give you a younger person to invest in. They are probably already right in front of you! Don’t hesitate to share your heart. Another generation needs the wisdom of your walk with God.
• If you are a young person, ask the older people in your life questions. Pay attention. Listen. Stop being enamored with other people who have no more experience or understanding than you do. Look at the examples the Lord has providentially placed in your path.

Take the time to read 1 Kings 12. Rehoboam is the classic picture of a man who listened to those around him instead of those over him. We are told that he forsook the counsel of the old men and followed the advice of those who had grown up with him.

(This is a reminder that peer pressure and the temptation to listen to bad counsel do not end when you graduate from school!)

What were the consequences? The nation of Israel became divided into two kingdoms. It matters who you listen to.

I remember well those days sitting under the cherry tree at grandpa’s house listening to him talk. How silly I was! I should have asked more questions. I should have paid better attention. What I wouldn’t give for one more afternoon under that cherry tree with him. There was so much more he could have taught me if I had been teachable…

Get to the older people! Give them your best attention! Go east, young man!

Resources:

About Scott Pauley