Grumpy Old Men
Working in the geriatric community I wondered if being inconsiderate and thoughtless of others is what we all have to look forward to. Not as surprised as I find amazing at how the elderly in this community, though not all, couldn't care less at how their actions would affect anyone else. From a man leaving his television volume up loud all night while his medication puts him in a deep sleep to his neighbors that waited until 4:50 a.m. to call me and complain about it. The neighbor complained that this was the second night that he has done this. Of course my thoughts went to why the neighbors hadn't said anything the entire day before or even have a discussion with the man. Instead, I thanked them and dealt with the matter (Titus 3:1-6 AMP). What? I'm going to try to teach 80 year olds how to be more considerate of each other? I'd rather pray....its much easier.
In the perspective of Christian Dating, this behavior just couldn't have come about especially where practicing Christians are concerned. If our hearts and minds are stayed on Him to be more like Him, then the transformation stays on the positive side - it has to. However, if change never occurred in the first place and the person decided to maintain his/her own will, then crotchety is in the future of the spouse that asked or accepted the proposal (Ephesians 4:21-32 AMP).
The night before this particular aforementioned incident, I was awakened at the same particular hour. Two elderly gentlemen apparently decided to paint the town red and one of them had lost his keys to his apartment. Smiling and oblivious to the wee hour of the morning, neither was apologetic they just expected me to do what I was hired to do. As I approached the apartment door of one of the men, I noticed a half bottle of wine he left at the threshold before coming to seek me out. It didn't pardon the act of thoughtlessness. Both of these men are elderly, single, and have expressed no desire to remarry. I suppose they wouldn't have any reason to keep the pretense of being socially acceptable or caring what others thought of their actions. I use the word pretense because if loving your neighbor as your self is a way of life, anything else would appear to be strange and something that practicing Christians would not do. Would you know of anyone who has been keeping up the pretense all of this time and is waiting to show his/her true self? How would you know? Who would you ask?
The basic building blocks of Christianity is love (Matthew 22:36-40 KJV). To love God with all of your heart, mind, and strength then to love your neighbor as yourself. If these aren't in practice on a continuum with presentable fruit (Matthew 7:15-18 KJV), don't be fooled in believing God sent you to be the anointed help for that man or believe that sort would be of any help to you.
An elderly gentleman informed some of the staff that he was a new widower. He seemed to be having a hard time trying to cope with his loss. He wouldn't speak to anyone. He barely cleaned himself up or even combed his hair. He would come to get his mail and as much as grunt to people. Then a couple of widows moved into the building. They were active women and didn't know each other until they moved in. The elderly man saw one of the women and decided to clean up. He made himself known around the building and even fashioned a smile once in awhile. It wasn't long before he made his way to her and were soon considered a couple. Months went by seeing the two of them go to the market, field trips and even taking long evening strolls together. Would there be a more shocked look on anyone's face when he came to a community function with his wife? What was the big deal? Why couldn't he just tell the truth? If it was his pride, why say anything at all? Anything would have been better then a lie - especially to the woman he was taking evening strolls with. Though this man didn't go back to his nasty habits of marinating in his own filth and not speaking to people, the woman he used to stroll with changed a little. She doesn't smile as much as she use to.
In the perspective of Christian Dating, this behavior just couldn't have come about especially where practicing Christians are concerned. If our hearts and minds are stayed on Him to be more like Him, then the transformation stays on the positive side - it has to. However, if change never occurred in the first place and the person decided to maintain his/her own will, then crotchety is in the future of the spouse that asked or accepted the proposal (Ephesians 4:21-32 AMP).
The night before this particular aforementioned incident, I was awakened at the same particular hour. Two elderly gentlemen apparently decided to paint the town red and one of them had lost his keys to his apartment. Smiling and oblivious to the wee hour of the morning, neither was apologetic they just expected me to do what I was hired to do. As I approached the apartment door of one of the men, I noticed a half bottle of wine he left at the threshold before coming to seek me out. It didn't pardon the act of thoughtlessness. Both of these men are elderly, single, and have expressed no desire to remarry. I suppose they wouldn't have any reason to keep the pretense of being socially acceptable or caring what others thought of their actions. I use the word pretense because if loving your neighbor as your self is a way of life, anything else would appear to be strange and something that practicing Christians would not do. Would you know of anyone who has been keeping up the pretense all of this time and is waiting to show his/her true self? How would you know? Who would you ask?
The basic building blocks of Christianity is love (Matthew 22:36-40 KJV). To love God with all of your heart, mind, and strength then to love your neighbor as yourself. If these aren't in practice on a continuum with presentable fruit (Matthew 7:15-18 KJV), don't be fooled in believing God sent you to be the anointed help for that man or believe that sort would be of any help to you.
An elderly gentleman informed some of the staff that he was a new widower. He seemed to be having a hard time trying to cope with his loss. He wouldn't speak to anyone. He barely cleaned himself up or even combed his hair. He would come to get his mail and as much as grunt to people. Then a couple of widows moved into the building. They were active women and didn't know each other until they moved in. The elderly man saw one of the women and decided to clean up. He made himself known around the building and even fashioned a smile once in awhile. It wasn't long before he made his way to her and were soon considered a couple. Months went by seeing the two of them go to the market, field trips and even taking long evening strolls together. Would there be a more shocked look on anyone's face when he came to a community function with his wife? What was the big deal? Why couldn't he just tell the truth? If it was his pride, why say anything at all? Anything would have been better then a lie - especially to the woman he was taking evening strolls with. Though this man didn't go back to his nasty habits of marinating in his own filth and not speaking to people, the woman he used to stroll with changed a little. She doesn't smile as much as she use to.
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