When Does Old Begin?

The most basic question of all about old age is when does it begin? Does it begin the first morning I awaken with a groan and exclaim, “Boy, do I feel old today?”

This leads to the next question, “What does “old” feel like?” How do I know? Did someone tell me? And if they did, was it true or fake news?

If you are age 49-50 in America, you likely know when you received your first “Welcome” from AARP. We remember declaring to all who stood nearby, “I’m not old enough for AARP!” (While silently the question repeats itself in our mind, “Am I really?”)

How old is old?

Ask a teenager and you’ll get one answer. Ask someone at 65 and you’ll get another.

In a pole taken by Pew Research a few years ago, respondents, ages 18 to 29, said the average person becomes old at 60. Middle-aged respondents put the threshold closer to 70. Respondents at 65 and above said the average person does not become old until turning 74. (If I have to give a “number answer” to this question, the number 80 gets my vote!)

The difference in our answers is “perspective”

Remember, PERSPECTIVE is understanding the relative importance of things seen from a certain viewpoint, in this case, young, middle, older, old.

The truth is, chronological aging may have little to do with when old age begins. There is a growing belief that one’s attitude about life and aging may be a more significant factor. I am in this company.

It’s another good reason for we Christ-followers to discover our Second-Half Callings, giving freely of our hard won discretionary time, skills and resources, by offering others gifts of his redeeming grace.

Watch for the markers

Because many people retire at this age, 65 is sometimes considered the beginning of old age. A 65-year-old person may remain productive and healthy, but still be considered an “older” person or a “senior citizen” in today’s society. Think “really old” if he/she is 75.

Even when one is active and healthy at 65, the world around us considers us as “older,” and a teenager may think of you as “elderly.” Throughout the developed countries of the world, 65 years is a generally the definition of an older person.

According to the Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends survey, June 29,2009, gender makes a difference too. On average, “women said that a person becomes old at age 70, whereas men said that the magic number is closer to 66 years of age.” The survey arrives at a consensus by placing the beginning point for old age at 68. http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2009/06/29/growing-old-in-america-expectations-vs-reality/

Not as bad … not as good

One should ask, does God say anything about old age? As a matter of fact he has much to say in human stories and wisdom literature, of which this is one:

The righteous flourish like the palm tree
    and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the Lord;
    they flourish in the courts of our God.
They still bear fruit in old age;
    they are ever full of sap and green,
to declare that the Lord is upright;
    he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

~Psalm 92:12-15

Our Creator thus reminds us in his Word that getting old isn’t nearly as bad as people think it will be. Nor is it quite as good. It is, in fact, a season for flourishing, planting, bearing fruit, being full of life; in words well said and in deeds better still, presenting our world with the Rock on whom our faith and our hope is found, the Rock Christ Jesus.