The Bible talks of “The Elders at The Gate” referring to group of wise elders deciding cases at the gate of their cities. Most often, the elders at the gate administer justices rather than crushing the afflicted at the gates. The elders talk about in this devotional are those on leadership positions, saddled with responsibilities of established good governance amongst their people. The younger ones, the women and children of every city look on to any members of the elders at the gates for social justices and securities. This of course, is one of many responsible qualities of an elder in a city. People who grew up in cities where elders rule can attest to the blessings God brings upon the cities with responsible elders. In the good olden days, an elderly man is not known for double standard kind of life. An elder never allowed self to be persuaded to lie in favour of any person. Elders of those good olden days called black as black and white as white.
Failed elders are those who compromised their revered integrity. Our passage today shows how Job drew God’s recommendation through life of intergrity. He lived a life of reverencing God without fualts. Job belonged to the Elders at the gate in his days. Revered elders in those days in Africa could give their lives to save the youngsters under them. My father had prayed over a young man in our lineage, asking God to take his life for the young man. He was the eldest then in our compound. He prayed the prayer with every sincerity. It was not funny for me to hear such a prayer then. But as time goes on, I realized every oldest person in my district pray such prayers on their siblings. These were days when truth, righteousness, indivisible relationship exists between human beings. Question here is, “Can one still find an elder who will substitute his life for the lives of the younger one before him or her?
Me think, that the present world is not the world I was born into, grown and nurtured for the past 65 years plus now. Today, we blame the youngsters for vices and wickedness of the world. We the elders feign by shifting anything bad to the youngsters. A critical look into the issues shows however, that responsible elders are vacating the scenes of life in the world these days. The elders are more of money lovers, lover of pleasures, affluence, enjoyments and others. We are seeing elders taking over many things from the youngsters either by intrigue or by force. Year by year, gerontocracy is gaining prominent because the elders are making themselves “sit-tight-leaders” in the world. Today’s devotional is to x-ray the failed elders of our present world. Follow us to the second series please.
PRAYER:
Pray, asking God to recreate our present age elders and rebuild them into the elders of those years back; when the world was more habitable and pleasant to all folks of life, in Jesus name.
bishopubaudenyi@hopealivechurch