Be Still And Know

Proverbs 20:29 The glory of the young is their strength; the grey hair of experience is the splendour of the old. Tension between the generations is not new. Aristotle, in the fourth century, commented: “When I look at the younger generation, I despair of the future of civilisation.” Long after Aristotle’s day, in 1237, a monk named Peter gave his reasons for despair when he looked at the youth of his day. He wrote: “The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They have no reverence for parents or old age. They are impatient of all restraint. They talk as if they know everything, and what passes for wisdom with us is foolishness to them.” The truth is that in every age there is a huge gulf between the generations. Today’s proverb encourages us to look for the strengths of each age group. Everyone has something special to contribute. The young are unquestionably stronger than older people. But grey hair is a clear sign that the old have more experience of life. These are both wonderful gift