“The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.” – Proverbs 16:31

Being past seventy years of age and having a full head of white hair, I find today’s focus verse very intriguing. It says that old age can be a blessing, if we use our time well. This makes me think that while we often quote, “Let no man despise thy youth” (1 Timothy 4:12), we could also say, “Let no man despise thy old age.” Even with its challenges, getting older can be a blessing because it allows us time to experience a more intimate relationship with God, which then opens new opportunities to be used of Him.

Although our ability to learn and remember gradually declines throughout our adult years, there is mounting evidence to suggest that the skill of understanding important information—also known as “wisdom”—actually increases with age. Thus, not only do added years bring more experiences to draw from, but also a better interpretation of those experiences. As Christians, we want to take full advantage of this faculty and allow the Lord to use it for His purpose.

Being spiritually minded, the wisdom we desire cannot be found in the world. It is not revealed through a mental process of collecting and analyzing knowledge, as one might suppose, for we are told that “knowledge puffeth up” (1 Corinthians 8:1). Rather, the wisdom we want as Christians comes from the process of spiritual growth through trials of our faith. We learn from our experiences with the Lord—the lessons He taught us as we determined to follow His will in challenging times. And even if we are saved later in life, walking in the way of righteousness now allows us to rightly interpret the experiences of our past and learn from them, and perhaps even share them with younger people. Whether for many years or few, walking in the way of righteousness is the only way that the wisdom of our years will be useful to ourselves and others.

As we grow in spiritual knowledge and the love of Christ, we find a contradiction in the learning curve. The more we learn, the more we realize just how weak and unworthy we really are. For maturity, in part, is realizing that we are completely dependent upon God. Yet, by aligning our lives to the Lord’s righteousness and growing closer to Him each day, we will one day find ourselves wearing a white “crown of glory.”

Remember: let no man despise your age! With God’s help, make your advancing years a blessing to others.