Phil Baisley is pastor of Greenfield Friends Church.
By Phil Baisley
A Twitter friend asked recently if there were advantages to growing old. I replied that as
one ages — and I turned 69 last month — one worries less about things that don’t
matter much.
Then I added that some people worry more about those things and
become bitter. I’m trying to be the first kind of old-timer, but I know it’s too easy to
become the latter.
The Bible gives examples of both. Let’s start with King David.
David faced a lot of challenges on his way to becoming king of Israel, and many more
while he was on the throne. He had his share of enemies, some within the household of
his predecessor, King Saul. 2 Kings 16 describes how one of Saul’s relatives, Shimei,
cursed David to his face. David’s officers wanted to kill Shimei, but David refused,
saying, “Maybe the Lord told him to do it.”
A few years later, David was returning to Jerusalem after quelling a rebellion led by his
son, Absalom. Shimei met him again, this time more humbly, and expected to face the
executioner for his earlier actions. But David had seen enough death for one day, and
he promised not to kill Shimei.
Flash forward to the end of David’s life. Mercy, by then, had given way to judgmentalism
and vengeance, as it has in too many folks my age and older. On his deathbed, the
once gracious David gave orders to his son, Solomon, to exact capital revenge on
Shimei for his long-ago curses.
Now for the other example.
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, was a man who could never have been described as
merciful. Just ask Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the young men he had tossed
into a fiery furnace for failing to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s golden idol.
As with all of us, time took its toll on the Babylonian ruler. By Daniel chapter four we find
the aging king more than half out of his mind, living in the wilds eating grass like an
animal.
I’ve never had that happen to me, but I’ve suffered a bout of mental illness that ended
me up in the psych ward. I’ve been beside myself with grief over an addicted adult child.
At that point in life you can give up or you can turn to your Creator. Nebuchadnezzar
turned to his Creator. He humbled himself and prayed, and God restored his mental
health.
A lot can happen to people on the road from confident youth to tottering age. Along the
way we can abandon mercy and become a cynical, vengeful David; or we can become
a humbled, thankful Nebuchadnezzar. Every day I pray for the grace to be graceful.
