Let's talk about aging ... I see myself in the mirror and ask, "Who the heck are you, and what did you do with that young man I once knew?"
So, what does a consumer culture do?
It obsessives about aging ... what an industry ... creams and surgery, supplements and yoga, gyms and diets, pills and psychology.
Sure, let's look our best, but something is amok here - aging has become a sin. Yup, that's right, a sin. Something one shouldn't do. And looking old is a shame.
Ok, comb your hair, wear some makeup, wash regularly, and dress well ... but America's obsession with aging is over the top.
Which reminds me, as to why historic Protestant Churches aren't fairing as well as they once did ... sure, we can blame ourselves for being a bit stodgy, times change, and all that, but on the other hand, our culture, with its obsessions on aging, has grown afraid of some basic truths about life - one is that we age, the other is that we die.
Historic Protestant Churches mostly faced all of this with a degree of honesty, admitting to and accepting of reality. The Bible pushes us hard on this point.
A culture that's increasingly scared to death of death is not likely to seek out reality, a reality that admits to death and at the same time reaches for eternity, as a source of hope, a source of energy for the here and now, even as the here and now is deeply connected to eternity.
So the next time you see an add touting the latest treatments to fight aging, ask yourself some serious questions about time, and how you see it, and what you're afraid of.
Afraid?
Yes, we all are ... period!
It's what it means to be human, to be cognizant of our own own demise, knowing that we're on a plane headed off to the horizons and there's no return ticket in our pocket; it's one way.
I'm grateful to be a part of an historic Protestant Church tradition. We've failed plenty along the way, but we've also done well. In fact, I'd say, the good outweighs the wrong. Not that we should forget the wrong, or fail to rectify it, but that we have something worth celebrating, and I call it REALITY.
Being real ... with regards to time and life … and in such reality, there is something of the divine. God inhabits our years … each stage of the way … from our first breath to the last.
Aging?
It's a good thing ... look your best, but time will win out - and maybe we can recover what some other cultures still possess - a deep respect for the Elders - those who've seen it all, and done it all, and their accumulated wisdom, peace, courage, and hope.
And, in the end, be able to say, “Here I am LORD. Here I am!”
