What’s wrong with being old?

In today’s youth-obsessed American consumerism culture, no one wants to be considered “old.” It’s regarded as a playful insult (but still an insult) when a younger person says to an older person, “ok, Boomer,” indicating that the older person is a part of the Boomer population. Using Facebook instead of Instagram or TikTok is considered old. I recently read an article that said responding with a thumbs-up emoji is now a sign of being old. And only “old people” still write checks for things!

I don’t know how true any of those stereotypes are, but for the sake of argument, let’s assume they all are. Here is my question, what’s wrong with being old?

Part of my job is to do a lot of fundraising. I’ll be honest; more money comes in through old-fashioned checks written by “old people” than through electronic means, despite all my efforts to promote electronic giving.

When an older person gives me a thumbs up on social media, at least I know they saw the post and felt positive about it. When younger people respond with a different emoji, it is often unclear what it means.

“…we have created a false dichotomy that pits the old against the young and vice versa. That may be the way of the world, but the way of Jesus is different.”

Speaking of social media, if you are a marketer targeting young people, you probably should be on TikTok. If you are a healthcare company marketing home healthcare services, your most likely customers aren’t on TikTok; they are over on old-fashioned Facebook.

If you are a church that wants to reach all ages, then you likely need TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, printed material, and email. And you probably should let people give their offering via check, cash, cash app, and online.

My point is that we have created a false dichotomy that pits the old against the young and vice versa. That may be the way of the world, but the way of Jesus is different. The way of Jesus has room for both young and old and values both. If we want to walk in the way of Jesus, we must do the same. We may even find ourselves realizing there is nothing wrong with being old.

Who will give this a thumbs up and reshare it on their Facebook feed? Lol.

Dr. Terry W. Dorsett serves as the executive director of the Baptist Churches of New England.