The Problem of Old Age

NO ONE really wants to get old. True, we may want the experience and wisdom that can come from living many years; but we do not want the severe limitations that old age may bring to the body and mind. Nor do we want what follows—death. If we had our choice, likely we would combine the wisdom of age with the vitality of youth. That is what Ponce de León had in mind when seeking the “Fountain of Youth” in Florida centuries ago.

Can aging be halted, reversed? Can the wisdom of age someday be combined with the vitality of youth and last indefinitely? Confidently we answer, YES! When? Much sooner than you may imagine, as we will explain later in this magazine.

But before old age is reversed, its problems remain with us. And these must be confronted.

“Golden Years” or Not?

Some have called the period of old age the “golden years.” When one is not plagued by many illnesses, regrets or fears, the advancing years may indeed be a period of gracious tranquillity similar to what the patriarch Abraham evidently experienced, for the Bible says that he “died in a good old age, old and satisfied.”—Gen. 25:8.

However, others would call old age not “golden,” but “disaster.” One prominent person, on reaching the age of 70, was asked how he viewed old age. He answered: “Like shipwreck.” He compared his growing old to a ship washed ashore and being beaten to pieces by the winds and waves. Or as Boston psychologist Dr. Rebecca Black stated:

“People are led to believe that when they retire they will live happily ever after, but there is very little done to prepare people for the reality of retirement—and often it’s a disaster.”

Thus the thought of old age brings with it a conflict of images. There is the one image of lost youth, declining strength, and finally the possibility of a lonely death. The other image is that of having achieved something in life and getting respect and honor.

This conflict was noted in an editorial by Daniel Calahan of the Institute of Society, Ethnics and the Life Sciences when he passed the age of 46. He stated:

“To one who recently reached the advanced age of forty-six, the rapidly approaching prospect of old age is both entrancing and terrorizing.

“My children will be grown, my life will once again be my own. That is entrancing.

“But I am not altogether reassured by some of the elderly people I see around me, who spend a good deal of their extra leisure visiting hospitals, going to the funerals of old friends, and restlessly looking for something to do with idle time. . . .

“Many of the elderly are in nursing homes, those cunning institutions created to make certain that the elderly are not under foot around the house. The prospect that I might end my days in one of those places—staring at walls or everblaring television sets—terrifies me, but only slightly more than the prospect of aging itself.”

More Elderly

In some ways modern science has complicated the problem of those who are old and in poor circumstances. How so? In that medical science has prolonged life, but has not done much about the kind of life elderly people live. For instance, in America the child born today has an average life expectancy of 24 years more than that of the child born in 1900. But if the elderly have to spend many of those extra years in misery, what has been gained?

Because more people are living to grow older, the problems associated with aging increase. In the United States alone, there are now more than 24 million people aged 65 or over. Practically every family is affected by old age, since a family that does not have at least one of its members over the age of 65 is an exception. The census bureau reports that, of these Americans who are over 65 years of age, well over five million women live alone. About one and a half million men also do.

Because in many lands older persons are living longer, and there are more of them, the problem of what they should do with their lives is a real one. Many older folks will spend as much time living after age 65 as they did before becoming an adult. What are they to do with all that time?

Adding to the problem is the fact that the mind does not diminish its powers as fast as the body does. One group of psychologists states that the mind achieves its fullest powers at about 60 years of age, and after that it declines only very slowly. Hence, the problem of how to occupy the mind grows at the very time that the body no longer responds as it used to.

Problems for Others

The problems of the aged, of course, are faced not only by the aged themselves; younger family members are faced with their problems too. For instance, Business Week magazine says:

“Next to bringing up teenagers and financing their college education, the hardest family problem faced by executives over age 35 is caring for elderly parents.

“Says a New York insurance executive: ‘Taking care of my 91-year-old mother has turned us upside down—emotionally and financially.’ His reaction is all too typical.”

Old age, then, certainly is a problem. And more and more people are having to face it. How can they do so and be “satisfied,” as was Abraham? What can they do? What can young adults do about their aging parents?

And the most vital question of all: Can old age ever be reversed?

Do You Go ‘the Extra Mile’?

WHEN the neighbor’s dog drank his baby’s milk, a man in Nicaragua demanded compensation. But his neighbor became enraged and a knife fight resulted. The two men cut each other severely—all just because of the loss of a little milk.

This is typical of what can happen when people blow a small thing completely out of proportion. Often this leads to far greater loss to those concerned than if the original demand had been granted, or withdrawn peacefully.

Yes, many very serious problems would never develop if people were more willing to follow the principle of going ‘the extra mile.’ This is what the Bible encourages: “Do not resist him that is wicked; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other also to him. And if a person wants to go to court with you and get possession of your inner garment, let your outer garment also go to him; and if someone under authority impresses you into service for a mile, go with him two miles.” (Matt. 5:39-41) Consider how this counsel given by Jesus Christ could prevent difficulties over comparatively minor things.

A slap on the face is insulting and designed to provoke the one slapped. But would it really be to your advantage to retaliate? Rather, would not retaliation mean playing right into the hands of the one who wanted to start a fight? The wise course, then, is to ‘turn the other cheek,’ to disregard the insult. Generally this would end the whole thing.

You may know people who are bent on getting every personal advantage regardless of the expenditure of time and money. They make issues over trifles and insist that they must be vindicated. Would it be wise to get involved with them in lengthy and costly legal battles? Often it is better to take a loss and thus avoid getting embroiled in a maze of legal problems.

As far as an official or a supervisor is concerned, he may have the authority to request the performance of a particular service. Instead of protesting, the individual asked to do something usually is farther ahead by being willing to do what is required of him and even to do more than that. He thus avoids needlessly incurring the displeasure of those in authority.

Now, in the case of the two men in Nicaragua, likely neither one of them would have been scarred for life had there been a willingness to make compensation or to take a small loss. This is well illustrated in what happened to two women attending a Christian assembly in the same country. One of them accidentally knocked over a bottle of milk that the other woman had bought to feed to her baby. She quickly cleaned everything up and, when the other woman returned to her seat, offered to pay for the spilled milk. But the owner had no interest in compensation, and the two women soon were engaged in pleasant conversation.

Truly, the person who gains is the one who avoids making issues over trifles and really goes beyond what is asked of him to settle matters peaceably. There is real wisdom in being willing to walk that ‘extra mile.’