Wednesday, July 1, 2015

We Need What Our Grandparents Have: Age and Wisdom

Our culture have valued the elderly for their wisdom and experience. However today, they are segregated in society. They're in assisted living facilities, gated retirement communities, and nursing homes. Are we cutting ourselves off from something valuable?

In a research paper by Harvard and M.I.T, they found that our elders have excellent abilities to discern people and read their thoughts.

According to Benedict Carey of the New York Times, the older brain may move more slowly than its younger self, but is just as accurate in many areas and more adept at reading others’ moods on top of being more knowledgeable. That’s a handy combination…

The findings just confirm what Christians have always knew and taught about the elderly and why the book of Proverbs calls their gray hair and wisdom, a crown of glory (Proverbs 16:31).

God takes seriously the respect due to the senior members of our society. They have dignity and earned a lifetime of respect and value. We need to grow old with that understanding too.