The Church and Age Segregation, Part 2

March, 2003

by: Jeff Jones

In the last article we looked at a few reasons to avoid excessive age segregation in the Church.

1. The letters to the Church imply that members of all ages were to be included in the meetings.
2. The Bible commands interaction between church members of various ages.

In this article we will see what our duty is toward the older members of the Church. Leviticus 19:32 records a command for the Israelites. “You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man and fear your God. I am the Lord.” This verse simply requires that the elderly be shown respect. Isaiah 3:5, on the other hand, denotes that lack of respect for the elderly is a sign of God's judgment. Thus, we have a responsibility toward the elderly to respect and value them. If we do not, it indicates that God's blessing is far from us. Unfortunately in our day, it is not common to see the elderly respected. The elderly today are known more for the way they dress and being slow behind the wheel, than for being people whom we should appreciate. We as a church need to see the elderly as a necessary people in the Church. They are the people who have been there, who have done that, and who have valuable wisdom to impart to the less mature in the Church. It will be difficult for us to honor the “gray headed” if we do not have consistent interaction with them. What can you do to honor the elderly?