• Editor’s note: “Spiritual leaders answer” is a weekly column inviting Kaua‘i’s religious and spiritual leaders to share their doctrines’ perspective on a suggested subject. Every Friday a topic is printed inviting a response. Submissions are edited for content and
• Editor’s note: “Spiritual leaders answer” is a weekly column inviting Kaua‘i’s religious and spiritual leaders to share their doctrines’ perspective on a suggested subject. Every Friday a topic is printed inviting a response. Submissions are edited for content and length. Thoughts or suggestions for future topics are always welcome. Next week the suggested topic is hunger. The topic at the end of the column is for the following week.
Pastor Wayne Patton
Anahola Baptist Church
The apostle John identifies himself as “the elder” in his third letter (3 John 1). That word has two connotations. The first is age. John lived to an advanced age and he was still going strong for Christ.
The Bible views aging differently then we often do. The scripture emphasizes the positive benefits of growing older, including maturity, spiritual growth and years of answered prayer.
Proverbs 16:31 says, “Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life.” Psalm 22 says, “The righteous…will bear fruit in old age. They will stay fresh and green.” John had no qualms about identifying himself as “elder,” for it implied maturity.
There is a second implication to the word “elder,” that of authority. In the Old Testament the leaders of Israel were called elders. In the New Testament there were people called elders who were assigned as overseers in the churches.
John stated in his third letter that the greatest and most powerful thing that authoritative Christian elders can do is to pray for us. John the elder’s prayer was that we may enjoy the degree of financial and physical health which corresponds to our spiritual health.
As we age it is perfectly all right to adopt John’s prayer as our own, and pray that, if it be God’s will, we might enjoy good health and prosperity.
Dr. James Fung
Lihu‘e Christian Church
There are some leaders in our churches that have earned the distinction of being elected as an “elder.” An elder is a person of deep faith, with wisdom that comes from maturity, a person who has learned the secret of love, a person who is deeply committed to the church, a person who is seen by others to have perspective and balance, a person who can be called upon to provide wise counsel.
Elders tend to be older people who have faced the ups and downs of life, who have weathered the storms of adversity, who have learned some lessons that books alone cannot teach and who have forged a measure of their character by the manner in which they have faced and dealt with some of life’s tough issues.
Younger people can gain a lot by paying attention to and absorbing what their elders have to offer because of the wisdom they have gained even though they may be reserved. As the old saying goes, “They who say don’t know; those who know don’t say.”
I have been blessed by having a few older people in my life who have served as mentors. These individuals I’ve greatly respected and admired. They were willing to share wise counsel, lessons gained from understanding human nature and a faith that was authentic; relevant, biblically-informed and alive. They also knew how to listen in a way that drew out some possibilities from within me that I would never have imagined.
We all would do well to seek out the wise elders in our midst, spend time with them. And hopefully some of who they are might rub off on us.
Topic for two
weeks from today
• Will you speak to us on pride?
• Spiritual leaders are invited to e-mail responses of three to five paragraphs to pwoolway@kauaipubco.com.
• Deadline each week is 5 p.m. Tuesday.
