by Daniel H. King, Sr.

Older people have always tended to look at the world differently than do younger folks. Time and experience have taken their toll upon us and so naivité is no longer an option for us. We have been around the block before and so the scenery does not look much better, if at all different, this time than on former occasions. Hence we tend to have a more negative view of the world. Is our negative way of seeing things a proper slant on life, or is it merely the result of too much mileage on the old machine? Is there any real substance to our perception that things are getting worse? Should we attempt to force upon ourselves an “attitude adjustment” or merely learn to “go with the flow” and live with our new reality?

These are questions that we would like to explore in the present article. Getting older is not easy. One fellow said that, “Getting older is not for sissies!” And it is not. There are many trials and tribulations associated with it. Of course, as someone else observed, “the alternative is not that great either.” If we have grown older it is because we have been blessed by God to enjoy many years of life. Our health has been sufficiently good that we have survived to this point. We may have had a few surgeries or even some close calls but we are still here nonetheless. We have been fortunate enough that no trees or overpasses have reached out and grabbed us or drunken drivers have slammed into us, heretofore, and thus we have driven relatively accident-free, or at least have survived the close calls along the way and so here we are today! All of us who have done so have seen many people, good and bad, drop out of the ranks all along the road. They were here, and then they were gone. But such is life. Some people live to be old while others die young. It has always been so.

We, on the other hand, have been allowed to linger for all this time, so it is important to make a few observations about aging and how we see the world that we are presently living in.

1.Is the world “going to hell in a hand basket,” as the old expression goes, or am I just a sour old person who sees little good in the world? Actually, the answer to this question is a resounding “yes!” It is now and it always has been. This world is not the eternal home of the human soul. Heaven is our aim and goal (1 Peter 1:4). The Bible makes this very clear.

One who believes this, whether young or old, is not someone who has soured on things that are going on around about them, but is in point of fact a biblical realist. The general rule which says that people who over a process of many years have come to appreciate this to be a truism is not evidence that they have been around too long, or that they have somehow become twisted in their thinking by too many unfortunate experiences in life. It simply means that they have come to recognize that which has been true from the start. They may not have seen it previously but now they know it by their own personal journey in life.

This physical world is very flawed as well as being only a temporary environment for man (Romans 8:20, 21). Neither the human race nor this planet will last forever in conjunction with one another. Man as a being is doomed to eventual death. Moreover, the physical race of men can only be perpetuated as long as the planet exists. And the planet is most assuredly doomed in the long term. Scripture is clear on this (2 Peter 3:10). It has taken us much time to come to terms with these ugly realities, and we must pardon our younger contemporaries for their failure to appreciate them fully, but we know that given sufficient time the ones who are wise enough will eventually come to the identical conclusion.

2.Is our nation declining from its former glory; is it moving away from its ideological base in morality and ethics; are politicians becoming more corrupt and inept; in short, is America on a downhill slide toward Gomorrah? No doubt about any of these things. None of this is arguable. Politicians are able to pass laws which they impose upon the rest of us, and yet at the same time exempt themselves from many of them. A great many of these folks start out as common people who feel honored and privileged to serve their nation but after a few years in Washington they turn into millionaire elites who are arrogant beyond belief and feel that they are better and smarter than the rest of us. Therefore, they make decisions and pass laws that make no sense at all. Often they cause great harm to the society or to the economy. But none of this seems to matter. Apparently they are more concerned with pleasing their friends at the cocktail parties in DC than in serving the needs of their constituents.

Every one of these things is safely beyond dispute. As I heard one fellow say recently, “The US is doing a swirlie down the toilet fast!” I don’t know whether “swirlie” is a word or not, but you get the general idea. The next generation of young people will grow up in a world where “gay marriage” is a fact of life and where sensitivity training (think, “re-education camp”?) is the order of the day, the “new normal.” Socialism, which has destroyed every country where it has been attempted, has captured the hearts of a growing majority of the people. The social safety net has turned into a guaranteed wage for those who will not work and have no desire ever to do so. All of this on borrowed money! The politicians all seem to be financial illiterates. Almost half the money they spend yearly is borrowed. Only national bankruptcy (which cannot be far down the road at the present rate) can save us from ourselves. They have taken the richest country in the history of the world and turned it into a third-world pauper nation!

We are informed by the news media that nearly 90 million Americans are now out of the job market. They have quit trying to find jobs. Welfare, food stamps, and electronic benefit transfers are the new way of life for many Americans. The Washington Post reported of late that, “Welfare recipients took out cash at bars, liquor stores, X-rated video shops, hookah parlors and even strip clubs — where they presumably spent their taxpayer money on lap dances rather than diapers, a Post investigation found.” And yet government bureaucrats and politicians take no action to stem this terrible waste of our tax dollars. This is a certain route to eventual national oblivion!

It is truly sad to see our once great nation brought to its knees by sniveling liberals who do not deserve to inherit the high offices purchased with the blood of true American heroes; but this is the inherent danger of democracy. The people get to choose. So if they choose such weasels to be their leaders, then we shall all have to live with the results of their unwise choices. Conservative Christians do not represent a large enough voting bloc to elect or unseat anyone. That is our unfortunate situation in this present world.

But God is in control of the government in the next world, so in the end all wrongs will be made right. In the mean time we must learn to be thankful that we have food and shelter: “having food and clothing, we shall be content” (1 Tim. 6:8). We should therefore be happy in the face of it all.

Nations rise and fall. That is history. It will eventually be our history also. Ancient Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome have all had their day. But now it is over for them. Soon it will be over for us unless we change our ways, for “sin is a reproach to any people” (Prov. 14:34) and God will not always remain silent in the face of it. Eventually he will act in judgment. It is difficult for us to watch helplessly whilst these events play out before our very eyes. But such things are beyond our control. So, it is best to be content with such things as we have and learn to trust God through the storm. In the meantime, keep in mind that our citizenship is not here on earth but in heaven (Phil. 3:20).

3. Are our freedoms being rapidly eroded away and are we being made the servants of the all-powerful State? All across the Western democracies this has been the tendency in recent years, and the US has not been immune from it. Judges chosen for the Supreme Court in recent years through their outlandish interpretational methods have turned the Constitution into a virtual wish-list for the leftist tyrants who rule in academia and now also in the political sphere. As a result, the steel boot of a tyrannical government is being brought down hard against conservative Christians in an effort to get us to yield to their demand that we conform to the thinking of the secular progressive elites.

 Instances of this sort of pressure are multiplying rapidly as judges impose absurd penalties and threats of fine or imprisonment are being used to force God fearing people to conform to their New World Order. Little can be said that is hopeful in the face of such developments. Only God can deliver us from the frightening prospect of still far more to come in the years ahead. This is indeed scary, but we must not forget that God is still in control and is able to move to our defense if and when he is so minded. Thus, he can and will answer our prayers just as he did those of the early Christians who suffered under the horrible Roman emperors. The changes that are taking place are not frightening only to senior citizens, it is shocking to many younger Christians as well; indeed, it ought to be.

4. Should we despair or give up hope given that as God’s people we have all of these things allied against us? No we should not. The book of Revelation is the greatest source of encouragement for the embattled Christian in every age. In the face of the imposing power of Roman hegemony John saw in his visions a portrait of Christ and “his countenance was like the sun shining in full strength” (1:16). No earthly ruler could ever compare with him. Later still he saw him on a white horse as a victorious general with the armies of heaven following, also on white horses. Whereupon he observed, “He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty” (19:15). Then he saw the Devil defeated and cast into hell and the righteous dead raised up to sit on thrones with Christ, and last of all he was shown a portrait of heaven itself, the home of the blessed (chapters 20-22). Those words of encouragement were not only for that generation but also for our own. That is what lies in the future both for them and for us.

No, we should not ever despair or lose hope when we know that God will always be ultimately victorious and that he will reward us if we are faithful to the end (Rev. 2:10). Heaven will be so much better than anything that we have experienced in this world that, in fact, “heaven will surely be worth it all.” We must not grow bitter or depressed about life. Old age is too often seen by seniors of every generation as being about failing health, debilitating disease, and attending the funerals of our friends and loved ones. When so much of our bleak existence is associated with such things we have a rather natural tendency to grow negative in our viewpoint on life in general. Looking at it another way though, “now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11).

One of my old professors used to have a favorite expression which he used frequently: “Gentlemen, hoe your row to the end.” In other words, finish what you have started. It is important for all of us as we get older to hold on for dear life to what we have had the faith to believe for all of these years. Soon we shall be in the Master’s presence, so giving up is just not an option. So, “Hoe your row to the end.” And do so with grace and dignity!