Doing or Being: The Inherent Value of Senior Adults
Recently I read of a suggestion that we should all return to work to save the economy, even if it puts older people at higher risk of exposure to the COVID-19 disease. Surely Grandmother won’t mind risking a deadly virus if it saves the economy for her grandchildren, right? Choosing between prosperity and care for people who are older and more vulnerable is a false choice. Difficult times like this expose the underlying values that guide our decisions.
As followers of Jesus, what do we value most, the lives of people or the strength of the economy? Do we value only what a person can produce, or do we value the life of that person? The question is central to our faith – are we important to God for what we do, or for who we are as persons created in the image of God?
Older people are of value to God even after they are no longer economically productive. You have worth in the eyes of God for who you are, not for what you do. You are God’s beloved child, created in the image of God. Your highest worth is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
In the Hebrew scriptures, age and wisdom are held in high regard. The fifth commandment calls followers to “honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you” (Exod. 20:12 NRSV). The highest standard of righteousness in the Bible is measured by how one cares for the “widows and the orphans,” those who are old or young and more dependent on the care of others. Elders are to be honored and valued for who they are, not to be quickly and easily discarded because they are no longer “earning their keep.”
As we consider the questions this pandemic raises in our lives, let us remember that all life is a sacred and holy mystery, every age, race, gender, or nationality. Each human life, whether young or old, is of value to God. In the eyes of God, your being comes before your doing. You do not need to be productive to be valued and loved by God.
And so, whether young or old, every human life that is lost to this disease is a tragedy which brings sorrow and sadness to God and to all God’s children. We are all, young and old, beloved children of God, made in God’s image, and precious in God’s sight. Let us love God through the way we love one another, love our neighbors, and love ourselves. These are the values of God, who is love itself.
Greg Smith is the Pastor at Scott Boulevard Baptist Church and moving into the role as Director of the Legacy Ministry at First Baptist Decatur. Greg has served as Pastor of Scott Boulevard since 2007. He earned two degrees from McAfee School of Theology of Mercer University. He and his wife Jan have two adult sons who live too far away, and two of the world’s greatest grandsons! Greg loves to feed deer in his backyard, which may explain why there are no outdoor flowers at their home. He has also served since 2005 as Chaplain of King’s Bridge Retirement Center in Atlanta.