I once heard an old guy quip, “I hardly sin any more; I don’t have the energy for it.” Now that I’m his age, I say to the old guy, “Honey, I find that aging is like having someone pour Miracle Grow on my sin.”
Below are four temptations I experience as I age; and more importantly, the ways that I fight them.
Temptation Number 1: Self-pity about changes
“Poor me.” “I can’t do the things I used to do.” “Those were the days.” “I guess I’ll just be a worthless lump till Jesus comes back.” Are those thoughts familiar? To avoid this sad road of ennui and despair, we must look to our all-wise God and Father. What does he say? Paraphrasing Psalm 71:18, he says, “Dear child, as long as you have breath you have kingdom work to do, declaring my strength to everyone who is to come.” Will I believe this? Will I look for new ways to serve the Beloved, even in this later season of life? Will I remind myself that he is not surprised by my (perceived) limitations? Do I dictate to the Almighty how I should be used, or do I seek him for his direction? Belief or unbelief, that is the question.
Temptation Number 2: Refusal to accept the God-given limitations of age
This is a close cousin of Temptation Number 1. First of all, my limitations don’t limit God at all, so I don’t need to resist them. Who am I to question God? He likely sees this time as a time for me to slow down, smell the roses, and enjoy the gifts of breath and beauty with increasing praise to him. Our eyes may be getting bleary, but we have the opportunity for a fresh vision of God’s infinite creativity displayed in our world as well as time to enjoy it more fully. Will we do that, or will we complain about days gone by?
Temptation Number 3: Pride that devalues the contributions of younger generations
We need to remind ourselves that the lifestyles, culture, and interests of our generation don’t necessarily fit into the generations to come. Rather than going on about “in our day…,” we need to pay attention to the world they are living in and seek God for wisdom on how to encourage and build up younger people in the faith. It’s a tough world. They need cheerleaders, not critics.
Temptation Number 4: Wasting time that could be spent in prayer
Mindless vegging or frittering away time can tempt us in this season, and we can lose sight of the importance of prayer. You may feel weary, but so what if you fall asleep in the middle of prayer? Falling asleep in our Father’s arms while praying for his children is a lovely thing. He hears and rejoices to answer, as always. It was never about the perfection of our prayers anyway; the faithfulness of the Answerer is the point.
The result of giving in to these temptations is becoming a crabby, lonely, bitter old curmudgeon instead of a woman with a twinkle in her eye and joy in her heart as she embraces every day as one day closer to seeing her Savior. With our all-wise and powerful God, no season needs to be wasted, and no suffering needs to be experienced without redemptive sanctifying purpose.
Will we use this season to draw nearer to him? We can pray Psalm 71:9: “Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength fails,” and expect answers that will surprise us. Our Father has been faithful in the past; he will be faithful all our days. Let’s look to him and be glad. Amen.
