Heart Reflections Live
Monday, July 09, 2007
Adventure Before Dementia- Is it the Biblical Way to Live??
My husband & I were recently stuck in traffic behind a 4WD sporting the sticker, "Adventure Before Dementia"- we laughed, another Baby Boomer hitting the road! I don't know if my American, Canadian or UK blogfriends are familiar with this phrase, but in Australia it's pretty much akin to "We're spending our children's inheritance!& enjoying it too!" -something that is fast becoming something of a trend here. But is it Biblical? What does God's Word say about this sort of thing?
Proverbs 13:22 says, "A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just."
That's Old Testament, & in the New Testament the Apostle Paul said in2 Cor 12:14 "... for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children."
Lest any one think my parents are about to buy a camper van & take off into the wide, blue yonder- they are not!! They are wonderful, faithful workers, who have always saved hard, & often have to be encouraged to enjoy the fruits of their labour a bit more & thankfully they are now starting to do this. They are not following the worldly trend.
The Baby Boomer population is now demographically the largest group of people alive today, what a benefit they could be to the Body of Christ ! Empty-nesters could give time to building up the church & reaching out to Generation Y- the next largest demographic group, many of whom have grown up with a greater knowledge of who Ronald Macdonald is than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
There are so many children growing up today from broken homes, in a secular, humanistic school system, believing they have evolved from slime, who could really be reached by caring older Christian folk volunteering to teach Religious Education in the State school system. If we don't do it there are plenty of other people from different religions & ideologies eager to take a shot at it. Some state schools on the Sunshine Coast don't even have a program for R.E. I've heard.
Older folk have so much to offer the young- their own families & the wider community at large. The Bible always encourages us to think generationally, with our eyes towards Heaven. We are to live for Christ & not for ourselves. I'm writing this with respect & reverence to our older generation. We need you in our churches. We have youth needing to learn what it is to serve- maybe by helping you in your garden, if you are feeling sick. Service works both ways. They need your wisdom.
We need older women to "Titus" the younger- to teach them to love their husbands & their children, to be good keepers at home. Many young women, or new converts may have missed this growing up & know nothing of "Family Life" save being at day care & then going home to eat takeaway & watch videos to keep out of their parents hair. Can you see how much you're needed?
Retirement is never actually mentioned in the Bible. You may retire from your earthly job, but God may yet have some surprises for your Golden years. Your golden years are worth more than Adventure Before Dementia & when you're in Christ the best is always yet to come.
Proverbs 13:22 says, "A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just."
That's Old Testament, & in the New Testament the Apostle Paul said in2 Cor 12:14 "... for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children."
Lest any one think my parents are about to buy a camper van & take off into the wide, blue yonder- they are not!! They are wonderful, faithful workers, who have always saved hard, & often have to be encouraged to enjoy the fruits of their labour a bit more & thankfully they are now starting to do this. They are not following the worldly trend.
The Baby Boomer population is now demographically the largest group of people alive today, what a benefit they could be to the Body of Christ ! Empty-nesters could give time to building up the church & reaching out to Generation Y- the next largest demographic group, many of whom have grown up with a greater knowledge of who Ronald Macdonald is than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
There are so many children growing up today from broken homes, in a secular, humanistic school system, believing they have evolved from slime, who could really be reached by caring older Christian folk volunteering to teach Religious Education in the State school system. If we don't do it there are plenty of other people from different religions & ideologies eager to take a shot at it. Some state schools on the Sunshine Coast don't even have a program for R.E. I've heard.
Older folk have so much to offer the young- their own families & the wider community at large. The Bible always encourages us to think generationally, with our eyes towards Heaven. We are to live for Christ & not for ourselves. I'm writing this with respect & reverence to our older generation. We need you in our churches. We have youth needing to learn what it is to serve- maybe by helping you in your garden, if you are feeling sick. Service works both ways. They need your wisdom.
We need older women to "Titus" the younger- to teach them to love their husbands & their children, to be good keepers at home. Many young women, or new converts may have missed this growing up & know nothing of "Family Life" save being at day care & then going home to eat takeaway & watch videos to keep out of their parents hair. Can you see how much you're needed?
Retirement is never actually mentioned in the Bible. You may retire from your earthly job, but God may yet have some surprises for your Golden years. Your golden years are worth more than Adventure Before Dementia & when you're in Christ the best is always yet to come.
Labels: baby boomers, church, generations
posted by Father's Grace Ministries at 2:55 pm
1 Comments:
I was talking about this very subject with some friends at my daughter's birthday party on Saturday. It is a very sad trend.
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