Mentoring Future Generations

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Text:  Psalm 71

Psalm 71:18

So even to old age and gray hairs,
    O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
    your power to all those to come.

(ESV)

Before beginning this Bible study, I want to mention the Corona Virus and encourage everyone to take the necessary precautions to limit their exposure to the disease.  Since this is an airborne virus like the common cold or flu, we can use the same precautions, like the washing of hands, getting plenty of rest, avoiding contact with people that may be infected, and quarantining ourselves if we have symptoms or test positive for the virus.  We also need to pray for God’s protection and intervention against this disease as well as godly wisdom for leaders in government, medical professionals, and researchers tirelessly working to find a vaccine and cure for this virus.  Another important consideration in the context of the coronavirus is for older people to provide mentorship to younger people who have never experienced something like the Corona Virus in their lives who are full of fear and panic.   

The text of Psalm 71 is a psalmist, not mentioned by name, that fears abandonment by God as he grows older and his physical strength weakens (Psalm 71:18).  As a senior citizen myself, I can relate to feeling weaker as I grow older and no longer able to do the things I could do when I was younger.  Gone are the days when I could run a 10K race, running that distance five times a week in preparation and still have ample energy to work.  Gone are the days when I could just jump out of bed and begin the day, often with a 10K run and now must ease into the day.  And of course, there are the prescription drugs I must take daily to regulate blood pressure, heart rate, and blood thinners to ensure I do not develop a blood clot and have a debilitating stroke.  However, these things that come with aging do not mean one has outlived their usefulness for each individual of advanced age has knowledge, wisdom, and experience the younger generation needs as they are the future leaders of the world. 

While Psalm 71 does not provide the name of the author, it may be David.  This is because the author of the Psalm is someone that had enemies seeking to harm him in the weakness and feebleness of his old age.  Throughout his reign as king, David had many victories (2 Samuel 8:1-14) and no doubt many enemies.  1 Kings 1:1-4 tells of the feebleness of David in his old age with Adonijah setting himself up as king instead of Solomon, David’s choice as his successor (1 Kings 1:5-27).  While we cannot be certain, this could be the circumstance behind the writing of Psalm 71.  We also observe in the text of Psalm 71 the desire of the psalmist to proclaim the might of the Lord he has experienced to the next generation (Psalm 71:17-18).  In Proverbs 4:3-9 Solomon cites the wisdom he gained from his father David also lending support to David as the author of Psalm 71 as the psalmist expresses a desire to pass on what he has learned. 

However, while it is interesting to speculate who wrote Psalm 71, we must not become sidetracked and miss the message of the psalm.  Psalm 71:1-3 establishes the theme of the Psalm as God being a refuge and righteous rescuer one can turn to in times of trouble.  The psalm continues with the psalmist recalling times when the Lord rescued him from cruel and unjust men desiring to harm him.  This represents the wisdom and knowledge the psalmist can impart to the younger generation backed by experience.  Sadly, however, this level of interaction between older and younger generations in the church is lacking, with the generations often segregated with little or no interaction.  Over the next several weeks, the Saturday posts to this blog will deal with what older generations must do to impart wisdom to younger generations. 

A generation gap existed between my generation and that of my parents and still exists between generations today.  However, while there as a gap and disagreement between my generation and that of my parents, my parents were able to plant seeds of wisdom that helped me face challenges that have occurred in my life as I have grown older.  Like it or not, the youth in the Church today are its future leaders, a fact we cannot change.  To lead the Church according to biblical doctrine and principles, these future leaders need interaction with mature believers who have experience, wisdom, and most of all spiritual maturity to face challenges from a biblical foundation.  My prayer is that this study will encourage spiritually mature believers to interact with youth in the church by providing spiritual leadership that develops future church leaders that lead according to biblical principles and that youth in the church will seek mentorship from spiritually mature members of the church.  May God bless everyone reading this post.