The Pulpit Speaks: November 29, 1958

An article written by my father, the Rev. C. Thomas Paige, as it appeared in the Tri-State Defender on the date shown.

“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say, ‘I have no pleasure in them; while the sun or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain.'” — Ecclesiastes 12:1-2

A few days ago I saw an old lady — thwarted by life’s most cherished dreams — leave a room with her face soaked with moisture from tears. Now at a time when she normally would have been shedding tears of joy because of the realization of her dreams she now stands on the very threshold of despair — broken-hearted because now she is on the verge of a dismal failure.

This brings me once again to one of my pet questions — when is a man old? I am sure that experience has taught most of us that age is not something that can be measured alone in terms of years. There are other factors and important factors that determine exactly how old a person might be. Deep down within me I am forced to believe that age is a matter of one’s beliefs — when one reaches that stage in life when he can no longer or desires no longer to make a contribution to his day and time that he is getting old.

Getting old is one of the most dreaded conditions in the annals of man. People take special exercises, go on diets, go to this resort or that, go through plastic surgery and the like to keep from growing old. All this takes place and yet one day, they wake up to learn that their steps are getting shorter and shorter, vision is becoming impaired, and the hearing that only a few years ago was very keen is now not nearly so. Whether we want to admit it or not, all of these point to one fact: we are growing old. No wonder the old poet of many years ago reminded us to remember now.

Day by day I see young people who are not mindful that, in just a few more days, they will be in the same position as this old lady. It behooves all of us to realize that 55 or 60 is just a matter of a few more settings of the sun or risings of the same. Unless we remember now, we, too, will find ourselves at that station in life when all or most of our strength is gone and sitting on the proverbial wishing rock, wishing that we had our days to live all over again and telling ourselves what changes would would have made.

How tragic it is that many people lull themselves into complacency, rocking in an old chair singing, “I have heard of a land on a far away strand … ’tis the land where we never grow old.” The only people who refuse to grow old are those people who remember in the days of youth that life is a matter of enriching the life of someone else. As soon as we come to grips with this one thing ourselves we can stay young through the constant aid we render to others. If, in our young days, we come to grips with those things that are vital to life, we will always remain young. I know that there are countless numbers of us who are always lulling ourselves into a false belief that “it can’t happen to me” but I have news for all people believing so. There are certain imperatives in our lives — all of our lives — that must be recognized as such. We must remember now that as sure as we live, certain things are going to happen. When the poet said remember now, he was telling us in no uncertain terms that the foundation that we build today will enable us to live long, useful lives here on this earth.

The standards of life that are vital, the rules of the game, the demands of human activities — all change so fast that, much sooner than we think, we are old, left out of the picture because we are no longer in a position to make a contribution to our day and time. When one realizes that such is the case, we are equally reminded that we are old. Getting old is something that is inevitable in term of years, but it does not have to happen in terms of activity.

To a large degree our age may be determined in terms of our activity but if, in the early years of our days, we stay mindful of the days that are to come and make preparation for the same, in all probability, we will not grow old. In the truest interpretation of the word, our youth is the challenging portion of our lives and if through wise choice and devout preparation we spend our youth wisely, our older days will take care of themselves. To do this and do it adequately, we must remember now!

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