Young and Old

Proverbs 20:29, "The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair."

I have been spending a good deal of time in Proverbs lately and this one jumped out at me.  There is an important balance here that either side of the sentence can miss.

On the one hand, you have the picture of a young man, whose greatest asset is his strength.  It is in youth that we are most able to do the things our minds and bodies would like to do.  I think it is important to recognize that the author of this proverb had in mind that young men have both the physical strength and mental strength to endure a great number of hardships.

The value of youth in leadership is that they are willing to do the hard things, they still have the strength to endure a great many trials.  They can carry the load and stand up for what is right.  Any church that discourages the young men from being involved in leadership, will lack the strength to carry out the things that need to be done.

However, the second part of the sentence is as important as the first.  While young men glory in their strength, old men have splendor in their "gray hair."  I don't think this is a fashion statement verse, but rather about the symbolic nature of gray hair.  Wisdom, experience, and life stories come with an older man. He has accumulated life lessons over time that, if heeded, can prevent a lot of unnecessary pain and suffering.

The value of older men in leadership is the ability to foresee potential pitfalls and disasters.  They can speak up when necessary, share stories of similar events, and bring correction when correction is needed.  Without older men in leadership, the church will be left repeating the mistakes of history, leaving a trail of hurt people behind it.

What must happen is that old and young learn to co-exist and lead together.  The younger must learn to respect and heed the counsel of the wise.  The older must use their wisdom to help the younger grow and maximize their strength.  The strong youth should be allowed to move forward, but the older men must serve as guards against false and stray paths.

Pray for your church that they will have a healthy balance of strong youth and wise age.