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Respect for the Aged, October 2
Respect in My Life
Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of
the old man, and fear thy God: I am the Lord.
Leviticus 19:32
There are services due to others which we cannot ignore and yet
keep the commandments of God. To live, think, and act for self only is
to become useless as servants of God....
We have in our ranks too many who are restless, talkative, self-
commending, and who take the liberty to put themselves forward, having
no reverence for age, experience, or office. The church is suffering today
for help of an opposite character—modest, quiet, God-fearing men, who
will bear disagreeable burdens when laid upon them, not for the name,
but to render service to their Master, who died for them. Persons of this
character do not think it detracts from their dignity to rise up before the
ancient and to treat gray hairs with respect....
Those who fear and reverence God, He will delight to honor. Man
may be so elevated as to form the connecting link between heaven and
earth. He came from the hand of his Creator with a symmetrical character,
endowed with such capacities for improvement that, combining divine
influence with human efforts, he might elevate himself almost to an
angel’s sphere. Yet, when thus elevated, he will be unconscious of his
goodness and greatness.
And God has especially enjoined tender respect toward the aged. He
says, “The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of
righteousness.” It tells of battles fought, and victories gained; of burdens
borne, and temptations resisted. It tells of weary feet nearing their rest,
of places soon to be vacant. Help the children to think of this, and they
will smooth the path of the aged by their courtesy and respect and will
bring grace and beauty into their young lives as they heed the command
to “rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man.”
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