7 Fears About Getting Old and How to Fight Them
Few things about getting old seem to redeem the decline in body and mind that accompanies the inevitable aging process. In our natural state, we resist the loss of youth in all kinds of ways; midlife crises, cosmetic procedures, and denying the fact that we’re not as we used to be. While most would acknowledge that there are benefits to getting older, such as wisdom and maturity gained through life experience, the idea of old age is generally feared in our Western culture. The Bible’s perspective on aging stands in stark contrast to how we often feel about getting old. Proverbs 16:31 reminds us that “gray hair is a glorious crown”; reflecting on the honor and gift it is to live a long life. While we don’t want to lose our lives, we want to drink from the fountain of eternal youth and not face old age! And though heaven promises wonderful things for our new bodies, God has designed us in a way that we need to graciously accept that “outwardly we are wasting away”, reassured by the truth that “inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16, NIV). 7 Fears About Getting Old In order to get to the point where we can rejoice in this season, we often need to work through some fears about getting old. These include: The fear of aging and the realization of mortality This fear is a general fear of getting old, and the realization that we are mortal and will die one day. Most of the time, people live in denial of the reality of the progression of time and how it wears on our bodies and minds; we simply don’t think it will happen to us until the signs start to appear, and fear and horror [...]
