Bottom line up front: The hubris of inexperience vs. the wisdom of experience and lessons learned.

Introduction: In some of my student days, I was blessed in particular by one of my professors being a man of remarkable giftedness. He was an OB/GYN doctor, a pastor, and a seminary professor. But perhaps more than anything else, he was a true shepherd. He loved us students; his actions made that clear. He invested in us. He was others-centered. If you’ll pardon the awkward syntax, he was very unfull of himself and focused on serving others.

Scripture’s Connection: This morning after PT, I was in said professor’s favorite book of the Bible–Leviticus. I used to marvel at how people could actually enjoy the book of Leviticus–until I understood and learned to see and savor Leviticus for what it teaches about holiness vs. sinfulness, about cleanness vs. uncleanness, about God-centeredness vs. self-centeredness.

As I read and thought this morning over what I was reading, I returned again and again to this: “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and shall fear your God: I am the LORD your God” (Lev 19:32, ESV).

Practical Questions of Application for Soldiers in the Military and Soldiers of Christ: Ever experienced trying to follow the lead of one who had positional authority but who was not ready to lead wisely? Sure, we probably all have. Some folks, by hook or by crook, may have titles, offices, or positions of leadership, but they don’t have the character or competence to lead wisely. They’re oftentimes full of themselves. Their aim is not to serve but to be served, the opposite of what Christ commands of his people: “even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mt 20:28, ESV). That’s what my professor-shepherd taught so well–how to be others-focused.

A second question comes to mind, too. Ever recognized a pattern of wisdom wherein a wise leader surrounds himself with many aged and wise and not just the young and ambitious? One of the men of old whose works I continually study penned this: “The young soldier may be more mettled and venturous, but the old soldier is more to be trusted because of his experience and skill. It is no small advantage to have been an eyewitness of the several appearances God has made for his church, and of several storms that have gone over her head” (Thomas Boston, A Complete Body of Divinity).

Encouragement/takeaway: What God is teaching through Moses’ pen in Leviticus remains practical wisdom: Welcome and heed the wisdom of the aged and experienced in your life. Look to them. Why? It’s not just because they’ve lived longer. There is (sadly) no lack of old fools. But there is, by God’s grace, also a body of precious, wise, Spirit-filled, others-focused saints in your midst. Honor them. Seek to learn from them. Listen to them. They’ve seen much but they’ve also learned much. They can be–and should be–your concern, too. May we have the humility to cultivate relationships with the wise in our midst. Or as Moses wrote, we should “stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and shall fear your God: I am the LORD your God” (Lev 19:32, ESV).