written by Stephan Joubert
We’re all accustomed to the stereotypes people use when talking about the younger generation. I’m referring to expressions like: “The youth of today has completely lost their way.” Older people accept too easily that today’s younger generation is ‘the lost generation’. That’s why a young man recently caught me off-guard. After a youth service where I spoke, he told me that he’s deeply concerned about older people.
I couldn’t believe my ears. Normally these declarations work the other way round. “What about older people concerns you?” I asked. “I think their religion doesn’t really bring peace to their hearts. They’re disappointed and trying to escape from real life,” he replied. “Be careful not to generalize,” I said immediately. “I know many older people whose lives are flooded with wisdom.” In any case, it’s wonderful that young people are also concerned with the older generation. Young and old people are branded as difficult far too easily, but it’s not automatically true. Age is not the problem… discontented people are. Every day we must choose to be a blessing to others. Otherwise we’re living one day at a time in discontent, and that’s really not how God wants us to go through every today.
written by Stephan Joubert
Depreciation is a problem that affects most items in our homes. At some time or another, the value of all earthly possessions decrease, sometimes so much that they become completely worthless. Take something like a new car. The moment you drive it out of the dealer’s showroom it’s value plummets with thousands of dollars! More sad is that people are also the victims of depreciation. The older we get, the less consumer value we have to the society around us.
Luckily, the same does not apply before God. The bible teaches us that the exact opposite happens. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:16 that even as our bodies are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day. Followers of Jesus are on an upward-sloping growth curve. Because God’s busy with an appreciation exercise in us, our value and quality increases continually. Day by day, as we grow older, we grow substantially in wisdom and spiritual knowledge concerning our relationship with the Lord. Above all, we move closer to our wonderful final destination. Therefore, we can and must life today, tomorrow, and every other day with joy, even as the pains of old age start affecting us. Yes, even if we feel lonely and rejected we are still valuable in the hands of our God. Our worth increases every day before Him. Appreciation is our new password, not depreciation.
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