The Glory of the Young; The Splendor of the Old

      There is an adage, “Experience is the best teacher”. King Solomon, the wisest and richest man that ever lived on earth, such that no king or any man is wiser and richer before and after him (1 Kings 3:12-13; 10:23) said, “The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old” (Prov. 20:29 NLT).

King Solomon is the author of three books of the canonized Bible. He wrote Song of Solomon when he was young. This book which has 8 chapters is a dramatic story of two young lovers depicting by analogy the love of God to the church: the lover/bridegroom being God/Christ and the bride or love one, the church/believer. How the bridegroom loved and cared beyond description in words for his bride is exemplified by the love of God/Christ to the church/believer without equal. “They lived happily ever after”. So with God/Jesus Christ/and the believer, now in this world and the new world to come. And it shall be forever and ever because a believer has eternal life even now and in the world to come, in heaven with God where “all things are new” and “where there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away (Rev. 21:4-5 KJV).

When Solomon was already of middle age, perhaps 30 years old and above (before 50), he wrote proverbs, divided by theologians into 31 chapters. At a rate of one chapter a day, one can finish reading the book of proverbs in one month. Proverbs is a collection of “wise sayings” or adage for guidance in wise living or in making wise decisions of the multifarious issues or problems that confronts man in his daily living. God is the source of wisdom and “in Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3 KJV). A believer of Christ can draw from time to time as needed, from these treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

It is very significant that it is written, “Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble” (Job 14:1). No man can escape “troubles” or trials or challenges in life. So, to be wise, read, memorize and apply proverbs. To fully enjoy life, do likewise read, and apply the instructions of Song of Solomon where we will learn to love as Solomon said, “I am sick of love” (S.S. 5:8); “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine” (6:3). This speaks of sense of belonging. One must belong to God: to Christians, they should belong to Jesus Christ (God in human form). He describes and characterizes love “as strong as death (no one can prevent death so likewise love cannot be prevented); jealousy is cruel as the grave” (be careful because of extreme jealousy, some are injured or even killed); the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame (be careful of your heart you will get burned); and he further said: “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it (8:6-7). Solomon is speaking through experience as evidenced by the fact that “he had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines: and his wives (the pagan wives) turned away (from God) his heart” (1 Kings 11). In Pilipino-Cebuano dialect mixed with Spanish, “mapunggan pa nimo ang bahâ, nunca ang gugma” (again be careful of your heart). Our famous Filipino poet Francisco Balagtas said it in Tagalog this way: “O, Pag-ibig kung ikaw ay pumasok sa puso nino man, ay hahamakin lahat masusunod ka lamang” (in English, “Oh, love, if you enter the heart of anyone, it will do anything and everything just so it can be satisfied”).

Thus, the Lord Jesus Christ who was born of a woman lived on earth for only thirty-three years or so, and his troubles or trials ended no less in his crucifixion in the cross of calvary. He took or substituted the sinner’s place in the cross, so no believer up to his last breath has to die spiritually anymore but, on the contrary, he will live eternally with God (John 3:16).

It is significant and amazing that the Bible tells us that because of the Love of God toward us, Jesus Christ died for us while we were yet sinners (Rom. 5:8). Though a sinner, one need only a saving faith in God/Christ to be saved. The classic example here is the other criminal (thief) who was crucified with him. Because of his expressed belief in the DEITY of Christ at the last minute, the Lord Jesus told him, “Today, I tell you, thou shalt be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). This is the basis for theologians in saying that a sinner is saved by his Faith, not by his good works” which is the very theme of Paul’s assertion in Eph. 2:8-9. Of course, it follows that a saved sinner will do good works, if given the opportunity (Eph. 2:10). Obviously, however, the criminal had no more time or opportunity to do any good work. On the other hand, the other unbelieving criminal obviously, despite any good works he may have done, if any, was not saved because of his unbelief which is evidenced by the challenging and doubting words he uttered while hanging on the cross. “Actions speak louder than words”. Jesus said it scripturally, “for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh” (Matt. 12:34 KJV).

Of course, because Jesus Christ is also 100% God, He resurrected on the third day as He predicted or told His disciples while He was with them teaching and preaching the FULL GOSPEL (good news of (1) SALVATION of the soul of men; of (2) BAPTISM of the HOLY SPIRIT which gives power to the believer to witness for God/Christ; of (3) HEALING as proved by the fact that all who have approached Christ for healing with faith, for whatever physical infirmities they were suffering from have been healed, and His power to heal is “the same yesterday, today and forever” (Heb. 13:8); and lastly, the Good news that Jesus Christ is the (4) KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS” (Rev. 19:16). Fortunately, in a nutshell this is the ministry of our FGBMFI (Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship, Int’l.).

Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes which has 12 chapters when he was already old (fifty years old until his death), and after he had gained enough experience in life. Some three samples of the wisdom of Solomon included in Ecclesiastes are: “Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself? Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?” (Eccl. 7:16-17 KJV). For instance, an over righteous lawyer who happened to be FGBMFI President (not in Davao City) was shot to death. An over wicked retired Judge (not also in Davao City) was likewise shot to death.

Solomon further said, “For there is not a just man (righteous or believer) upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not” (vs. 20). For example, in the case of Rahab, a high class prostitute, two spies sent by Joshua to spy the promised land went to and lodged in her house. The king of Jericho learned of the presence of the two spies, so he sent soldiers with his order for Rahab to surrender the two spies. Rahab lied by saying that indeed two strangers went to her house, but they already left at dawn. If they will pursue them in the forest, they will be able to catch them, so the soldiers rushed to pursue the spies.

But the truth was that Rahab hid the spies in the roof of her house and covered them with flax. As soon as the king’s men left and the gate of the city closed, she let the two spies down the wall by a scarlet rope, and they successfully escaped. Before the spies left, Rahab requested that when they attack Jericho, she and her entire family should be spared. The spies agreed. Rahab sinned by telling a lie, but she did something good for the Israelite nation (Joshua 2). If we are fortunate to be in heaven, we will meet amiable and beautiful Rahab.

Be wise: let us apply to our life’s existence all the teachings of Solomon in the three books he authored, and surely we shall live happily, successfully and with full satisfaction in life and not be shot dead.

Being young is a blessing as much as to be old is also a blessing. Not everybody is privileged to become old. Let us learn from wise Solomon what he said on how to live wisely our youthful and old age. He said,

¹Remember your Creator  in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come  and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”—

² before the sun and the light  and the moon and the stars grow dark,  and the clouds return after the rain;

³ when the keepers of the house (body) tremble,  and the strong men stoop, when the grinders (teeth) cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows (eyes) grow dim;

⁴ when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when people rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint;

⁵ when people are afraid of heights
and of dangers in the streets; when the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags itself along and desire no longer is stirred. Then people go to their eternal home    and mourners go about the streets.

⁶ Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,  and the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the wheel broken at the well,

⁷ and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” (Eccl. 12:1-7 NIV)

The Constitution of the Philippines provides minimum age for certain public officials. For example, a Congressman should at least be 25 years old; a senator at least 35 years old; and a President at least 50 years old. It is assumed that normally the older a person, the more experience he has in life. Man learns from his experience or from his mistakes. The older we become with more experience, the better, except on matters that require energy and physical strength.

While there is time to retire, for a follower of Jesus Christ, the time to retire is not by age limit, but his physical and mental capacity to perform his ministry.

Moses served until his demise at 120 years old. Abraham started his mission at age 75. Pope Benedict XVI voluntarily retired because of his alleged physical incapacity due to old age. For the first time in the history of Christianity, a Pope compulsorily retired himself. There is a time to retire.

Solomon said,

¹There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

² a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,

³a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,

⁴a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,

⁷a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
  a time for war and a time for peace.

⁹ What does the worker gain from his toil? ¹⁰ I have seen the burden God has laid on men. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time.” (Eccl. 3:1-11 NIV)

Older saints (or Christians) are often wiser saints, and they can make an enormous contribution in the kingdom of God by picking a sphere of service that matches their energy and experience. The value of treasures of experience is above the price of gold. That is the reason why we have elders in our churches who serve basically as advisers and consultants.

Sure, we may be getting older everyday, but the older we grow, the treasure of past experiences will make us wiser for the glory of God whom we worship and serve.

[FGBMFI Davao City Chapter Bulletin April 13, 2013]