Aging Well

I am attempting to age well physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
We should all strive to become sweeter as we age, not more bitter.

Aging Well

"Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

(Matthew 12:34-37)

I am attempting to age well physically, mentally, emotionally, and most of all, spiritually. I still have a way to go in all facets of my life. I am so grateful for God's patience with me and how He motivates me to keep pressing onward and upward. Getting older is not for the faint of heart. I am in my late 50s, and praise the Lord, I feel great! I take many supplements daily, exercise 3-4 times a week, and exercise my mind through reading, but most of all, I spend time with Jesus every day in my quiet time and multiple times throughout the day talking to Him. I may even have another Ironman in me; we shall see. But more than that, I want to be an Ironman for Jesus: someone who loves Jesus with all my being, loves and honors my family, and serves the churches and ministries God has called me to serve.

Our focal passage of Scripture for today's devotion is a very powerful and sobering word from our Lord. Words matter! The condition of our hearts is revealed by the words that proceed from our lips. We will have to give an account for every idle word we utter. I do not know about you, but that gives me serious cause for pause before I say something.

I came across an insightful piece on Twitter last week written by Dr. Michael Haykin, professor of church history and biblical spirituality at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. This both blessed and challenged me:

"On becoming sweet in one's old age:

"Sweetness, I mean spiritual sweetness, does not happen spontaneously as you age. No, it has been my observation and I know nothing to contradict it, that a lifetime of criticizing people and things and events and always being negative results in a sour old age. And that a lifetime of kindness and putting into practice a passage like Philippians 4:8 bears a rich fruit in spiritual sweetness.

"Years ago, I knew a Christian brother, more than double my age, who helped me enormously in some areas of doctrine. But as I spent time with him, I noticed that his speech was invariably very critical of others, indeed he was biting in his criticism. I found that after I was with him for a while, I felt "polluted" in mind and heart. I am not sure how to even express how I felt. I just knew that it was not good for my soul to be with him. So over time, I allowed our friendship to die. I did confront him about one issue, but to no avail.

"Now, social media, which feeds on outrage and biting sarcasm has heightened this problem. Unlike the butterfly, we should not expect that after spending a lifetime immersed in negativity and anger that we emerge from such a cocoon into the sunlight of sweetness and biblical meekness."

May God help us all to age well with sweetness. Let us be careful what we say and how we say it. There is nothing sadder than an older man or woman who is bitter and angry at the world. God, help us to have the law of kindness on our tongues (Proverbs 31:26) and be conformed more and more into the image of Jesus Christ who was full of grace and truth (John 1:14).