One of my favorite
organizational mottoes belongs to the Shriners who say something like, “No man
stands taller than when he stoops to help a crippled child.” Helping those who
cannot help themselves is a sign of compassion, of greatness, and of following
in the spirit of Jesus Christ. Throughout his teachings, Jesus emphasized the
need to assist the individual who had become a victim of the evil of this
world, whether natural or manmade. He added his words to the message of the
revelation of God before him. Help the widow, the orphan, and the sojourner in
your midst.
The following words of Jesus
have become the motivation for what is now a worldwide effort to show
compassion through random acts of kindness. Operation
Inasmuch can find in aging adults those who contribute to the support of
others as well as be recipients of that same support.
Mat 25:40 “And the King will answer
them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my
brothers, you did it to me.'” (ESV)
These words fulfill the
intent of the Old Testament thought found in the Law, the Prophets and the Writings
as illustrated by this verse from the Psalms.
Psa 146:9 “The LORD watches over the
sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked
he brings to ruin.” (ESV)
We need to look at our
society, identify who these helpless are, and invest ourselves in showing them
the love and compassion of the God who is also watching over them. Some have
their focus on the unborn and children in general. Others choose to focus their
energies on women and men who are trapped in slavery in a multitude of
settings. The crisis of immigration draws the passion of others. Then there are
those of us who see the aging adult as another of these who have become members
of an outcast group that has in many ways become abandoned by society.
Many of these aging adults
are still active in their communities, the “Go-Go” group, and we welcome their
participation as long as they recognize their positions of power must be
relinquished to a younger generation. Those aging adults that cannot keep up
with the crowd are too often slowly pushed to the side, catered to as may be
convenient, and eventually cared for out of necessity if at all. I have
referred to these as adults who fit into the “Will-Go”, “Slow-Go”, and
Can’t-Go” categories. The “Won’t-Go” category is mostly ignored by the church as
being too obstinate to deserve attention.
Yet the Church and its
individual members are called by God to see all these people as valuable
members of his creation. He sees their needs and grieves when they are
abandoned by the society they helped create. Aging adults are a part of our
family. They are a part of the Family of God. We have a responsibility to care
for them and to respect them. If we do not, one day they will stand up and be
our judges.
We need to add the Church and
Christians in general to the test suggested by the late US Senator Hubert H.
Humphrey. Will we pass the test?
"...the moral test of
government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the
children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in
the shadows of life; the sick, the needy and the handicapped."
~Last Speech of Hubert H. Humphrey
~Last Speech of Hubert H. Humphrey
