Thou shall Rise Up before the Gray Head

.

12. “Thou shall Rise Up before the Gray Head”
.
12. "센 머리 앞에서 일어서라."
.

.

May 2001 - Parent’s Week
2001년 5월 – 어버이 주일
.
- Real and living education of respect for parents, which they showed with the body
- The spirit of filial piety, the starting point of all ethics applied in the human society
.

.
Leviticus 19:32
32 You shall rise up before the grayheaded and honor the aged, and you shall revere your God; I am the LORD.

.

.

A few years ago, there was a case where an 73-aged old man strangled and killed his old mother who was older than 90. Many people who heard the news in TV badly criticized the act of this old man who had killed his own old mother.
.
But come to know the circumstances, it was not necessarily the case for indiscriminate criticism. The news report had it that the old man’s son already died, and that he was depending upon his grandson who inherited no decent amount of property. Because he as well was in the situation of feeding upon unwillingly-offered meals against his conscience in his grandson’s small chartered room, the old man thought that serving ‘his over-90-year-old mother’ along was not acceptable not only for his old mother but also for his grandson and the wife, according to the news report. The old man went to his father’s tomb and cried out bitterly. Returning home from there, the old man strangled and killed his old mother, saying, “Dear mom, go where your husband is and rest there in peace and comfort, not perfect as the place may be.”
.
The story is one of the cases that show a slice of hurtful human alienation most extremely in modern society.
.
About the old man’s such act, we can hear from one side of the society, “The old man violated a fundamental moral law, or the old man is a unmatched outlaw, or....” Meanwhile, some of the contents are understandable.
.
In agricultural society of ancient, there was no expression like ‘man living upon his grandson and the wife,’ even if man might become aged and live long. But nowadays has become the times of frequently hearing the words from old folks here and there, “I’d rather live alone than live hanging stuffily upon my child.”
.
The Proverbs has the following words, “A gray head is a crown of glory.”
.
In a large majority of countries no matter whether it be eastern or western, as is seen in Israel, Korea, China, Japan and any other countries of ancient dynastic times, most of the people were suffering from hunger, except for such privileged class like king, aristocrats, large landowners and big merchants. A lean year coming in, they died of starvation. A war breaking out, they were forcibly mobilized before they had to die. And in a winter of no farming despite the times of no war, they were drafted for slave labor and draggled to forced labor. Besides, any epidemic running round, it was common that every one or two in each house died.
.
This way, they lived at the cost of them, as well as in the worries of what to eat and what to wear for a life time, in physical heavy labor, in death and poverty left behind after sweeping of a war, and in an enormous number of deaths without being able to apply any medicine even to an epidemic (contagious disease) so common today. These circumstances had been lasting in both the western and the eastern hemispheres down until 100 years ago from now.
.
It is known that the average age of Roman men in Jesus’ times was a mere 40. Even until the forced annexation of Korea by the Imperial Japan about 90 years ago from now in Korea in the year 1910, it was also quite hard that folks lived up to the age of their ‘60th birthday celebration.’ Only much fewer folks than the old persons going as far as to hold their ‘80th birthday celebration’ nowadays were able to attain their 60th birthday anniversary.
.
So in the past, they couldn’t choose but accept that surviving the 60th birthday was in itself a wisdom in tough life circumstances and a victory in life. That’s the underlying reason why by even falling into debt despite poor circumstances, the sons and grandsons held a grand banquet on their parents’ 60th birthdays. Down to even the previous generation of us in our society, generally applied was the thinking, ‘A gray head is a glory and a crown of life, and a pride of the family.’
.
Another thing is that in the times where there were no TV, newspapers and computer, young descendents had to be attentive to old people’s unusual wisdom.
.
In agricultural and nomadic societies, to live depending on nature is absolute.
To look closely at the nature, such phenomena like drought, heavy flood, extreme low weather, extreme hot weather, huge snowfall...used to usually present itself in the similar cycles to 3, 5, 10, 30, 50, 70, 100 years.., though not exactly the same numbers. To remember that and to teach how to survive such natural disasters in the age of underdeveloped science, it was nothing other than the wisdom to come from old persons who had experienced 30, 50 and even 70 years of cycles by living longer than others.
.
Although bodies got old and into illness, yet it is that while they were living, the ‘wisdom in old persons’ heads’ was the source and foundation of life for descendents to live upon, and the wisdom, namely, the knowledge, which should be respected.
.
To see the TV program, ‘Animals Are Living,’ it occasionally introduces the life of elephants.
.
The commander and leader in a herd of elephants is not a strong and young male, but the old female that lived the longest in the herd. If there comes the time when it is hard to live because of no food around due to a severe drought, she will lead the elephants’ group that she belongs to, find where water is, and finally feed the herd, by recollecting her past memory through the experiences of drought, thirst and hunger which she has experienced for over 50~60 years’ life.
.
It is also the case with the camels on the desert.

The longest lived one is the chief in the flock. At ordinary times, the owner leads the way of the camel flock. But if strayed from the right path amidst the desert, the owner then cannot take the lead. Rather, he should entrust every right to an old camel and only follow at the heels of the camel flock.

It can be told that all this depended upon the wisdom based on the experience to come from long administrative ability of old individuals, which cannot be gotten by young individuals.
.
Even human society held up the experience and wisdom cherished by such old individuals, old persons, in old-times agricultural and nomadic societies. That is, old persons’ age was identified with wisdom. The saying, ‘a gray head is a crown of glory’ passes in meaning also as the saying, ‘the old person managed to live up to a gray head in such a hard world because he was wise.’
.
As it went into the industrial society, however, it has changed into the times where this wisdom of old persons became as if useless.

The agricultural methods too don’t depend on the weather of the sky like of old, but much more on the power of machines. And household tasks too are not the traditional ways that have been transmitted from our mothers and grandmothers. More and more developed good-performance electronic appliances that voluntarily substitute just at the pressing of a button for what people should do, well-packed well-organized miscellaneous daily necessities in supermarkets..., these changes are convenient and efficient for young folks, whereas it has rather fallen into the world where old folks have few opportunities to lend their wisdom and where a ‘mother-in-law studies the face’ because of any breakdown that might happen in case of wrong handling.
.
Since workplace had its machines and information develop differently day by day, we have seen frequent cases where many 50-something office workers who has much work experience but lacks aptitude for adaptation to new instruments required in the information society were pushed off behind the people who are younger than their sons even before 1~2 years since employed. Even though they were the motive power of nationally earning money abroad due to diligence and earnestness in their younger days and also have lived faithfully as a household head in their family, yet it is in the situation where they have been being pushed off and driven away behind the young hands who are only better at intelligence rather than real experience gone through with the body, according as more industrial information society settled in.
.
Old and outworn bodily in agricultural and nomadic societies of antiquity, the experience and wisdom coming from old persons’ age was so valuable above anything. But more and more into industrial and information societies, the wisdom entertained of the best value by old people has changed into an old-fashioned item, or into like nag that might have been suitable for a certain ancient times where there was the ‘Goryeo Burial,’ an ancient practice of abandoning an old person to die at the grave site.

.

If there was any 80- or 90-aged person living, the descendants held it to be a ‘right manner as posterity’ that even if disinclined for serving their old person, they should keep their inward feelings to themselves. They thought it to be a right path as a human being that outdoors an old person should be respected as a pride and glory in the family and as the most advanced person in the order of rank.
.
Nowadays we get to see the following frequent occasions that after old people who have been studying faces of young family members have their children move out, they live by their own or finally choose to go to a toll asylum for the aged. I once heard the news that among adult wedded couples in their 40s, the 60% men and 80% women answered yes to their living away from their parents. This is the current real address of the ‘thought of respect for old people’ in 2000 something years, even though they might be in for the same situation as their present father and mother in 20~30 years.
.
You might have heard of the TV actress Sonsuk. According to the actress Sonsuk’s saying, for fear that she should be a burden to the family in living together in her advanced age, she went ahead and said aye to her children’s living in their own branch families, saying “You may live out, yes you may!” As soon as her children responded an unhesitating yes to her saying, it is known that she was inwardly very disappointed with her children. We need to remember what she said, “I reluctantly suggested living separately from my children. But how many parents will there be who would inwardly think badly of living together?”
.
In the slogan of “industrialization, informationalization and westernization” our society imitates and pursues, we, willing or unwilling, find ourselves resembling the western society as it is. As one of the problems, our unique extended-family-oriented family system and atmosphere is collapsing and the ‘nuclear family’ and ‘individualism’ is prevailing.
.
It is common phenomena that plenty of old people in the West spend their old days in old people’s home for 10 or 20 years with their children visiting once or twice in a year, or that they stare fixedly at their children’s compliments cards of Easter or Christmas cards before they die lonesomely.
.
Until the 1940s~1950s, the western society as well now prevalent of nuclear families was in a family atmosphere different from nowadays. Unlike today, there was no high divorce rate. Their average child number was 3~5. Fathers of the families were hard-workers and the wives were care-takers for the matters like their family health and children education as home-makers. This picture of family was a typical aspect of the Western middle class until the 40s~50s.
.
Even if they didn’t live with their parents, namely, old persons, they often gathered together and ate together and mixed together with their sons and the wives and grandsons and granddaughters and in so doing formed their bond between family members in meaningful special days like family anniversaries, Saturday evening dinner, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas and Easter Day. This atmosphere of harmonious family has been transmitted like their parents did.
.
Up until 1950, like their parents did, the husband as head of the family did for his wife and children, and the wife cared for her husband and children, sometimes inviting their parents to the family dinner in their respect.... Such manner of life was able to be kept by a majority of people. Up until this time, the parents were treated nicely as parents by their children.
.
Since the 1960s, however, the society changed drastically and the persons who had devoted themselves in the 1930s~40s began to be alienated from society from the 60s lasting up to now.
.
The steady ‘alienation of old people’ as well, which are often dealt with in the Western society, is a social change that occurred in a mere short period less than 2 generations for 50~60 years.
.
Our country is about 10~20 years later than the West is in social change. As late as the 70s, old people didn’t live in the state as dispirited as this much. In the case of mere 20~30 years ago in Korea, when an old folk reproved a young man or student who didn’t concede his seat in the bus or subway train, the young man or student sometimes muttered something to himself but right away escaped from the seat with his face reddish because of the surrounding people.
.
But nowadays is often the case with fighting instead of escaping. Students’ smoking is also the same yesterday or today. Just, nowadays is often the case with their smoking openly instead of smoking out of sight, and they often talk back or fight instead of being flushed with head down and escaping in front of a reproving adult or old person. This is the difference from former times. .
That is to say, things have been changing to the generation where what old persons say is losing its power.
.
For the sake of all these of now we are blessed with, those whom we disregard as ‘old men or oldsters’ have been living in dedicating themselves to work since young, giving birth to and educating their children. Their children think it almost natural to burden their parents with all school expenses, allowances and most of children’s big marriage fund, and further to demand apartment or house and business money through parents’ disposal of property and estate.
.
On the other side, it is more often than not that the old parents are living in an indefinable pent-up anxiety from being shy of asking for allowance from their adult children, and in trembling with fear from being unable to express ailment and loneliness.
.
Young people tend to be living in the ‘thinking like a ageless baby’ who knows how to insist on only his privilege of protection as a child but has lost his duty to return. In 30 years, however, the very young men of now also become old persons, according to the order of nature. For example, the following young men also become old and gray-haired in 30~40 years, who now spend one million won per month on their children’s school expenses, allowances and clothing money and yet feel reluctant and unfair of giving their old parents even 100 thousand won, so that they try to call their siblings together and discuss about jointly pitching in.
.
We have been growing hearing the lyrics “...like a baby grows up to be an adult...” as in the singer Seo Yuseok’s song titled ‘Ongoing Days.’ Speaking of another thing we should know is, the lyrics of the song ‘Song of Remorse’ includes this following content, “Don’t sneer at the gray head who goes behind that young lad at the front.”

What does this mean?
.
It could mean that “A monkey-shaped old entity whom you those young brushed off and treated as a nonsense might settle into your body like a thief in spite of yourselves.” Or it could mean that “Although I am now under the pitiful circumstances of being disregarded and finger-pointed at on account of being old, ill and worn-out, yet 30~40 years ago I was confident that I’d be ever strong and self-sustaining like the current you young in front of me. I never imagined I’d be an old weakling like me in front of you. So dear you young, please be awakened through me to the fact the old entity is not others but you yourself.”
.
Human history flows.
It flows like streaming water.
Streaming water stands to flow someday even if the water is blocked by a dam or bank.
It is also the case with man.
.
There is no such thing like an everlasting bloom of youth. Even the springlike youth who now agonizes uncontrollably over his powerful strength and ambitious spirit must also know the latent chance that with the passage of years he stands to be transformed into an old and sick entity.

.

.
Now come a conclusion.
.
The spirit of filial piety is based upon the spirit of love and affection between parent and children.
This filial piety is also the beginning of all ethics in the human society.
.
To look at the book of Leviticus 19:2, one can read this command, “Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.” The subsequent verse 3 makes reference to respecting parents and observing the Sabbath. As it were, this may mean that as the commandment of observing the Sabbath is from God, so that of respecting parents is characteristic of religion.
.
Behind the norm, there is the ‘divine good will’ that God wants his community(godly people)’s peace and welfare despite seeming as if respecting parents has nothing to do with God who created all creation.
.
Respecting one’s parents is a must. The filial affection is also the obligation we have to do so that our soul may be prosperous in everything and happy. When this respecting of parents is rightly habituated, we can then get to take a right-mannered look at the old persons in our society and community.

Today’s text Leviticus 19:32 has this saying, “Thou shall rise up before the gray head.” That means that respecting old persons shouldn’t stop at mere words or theory, but it should rather be accompanied by its practical action.
.
The Hebrew word for ‘Respect’ is ‘Kibed.’
This word means ‘heavy,’ originally meaning ‘liver.’ Hebrews thought of the liver as something the heaviest of the man’s internal organs.
Respect means, as it were, ‘Consider the gray head (of your parents) precious like a liver.’
.
Although the experience and wisdom which old persons have gone through in their lives prior to us may seem unfit and useless for current times, yet the society where their lives are appreciated with their gray heads alone should be the very ‘community we aim towards (as God’s people).’
.
All living creatures come into being and live their cycles through the organic processes of infancy ~ puberty ~ adulthood ~ senescence(old age) before they die. Even if the time might come when human cloning is dreamt of and is put into practice by chance, the relationship between parent and child lastingly continues. The best way to be treated as a parent as a human by your own precious children who are the apples of your eye is to now show the example of your respecting parents in your body in front of those children. The education shown in your body is the share that may return to you yourself in several decades.

.
I look forward that the reward in Exodus 20:12 would be your own, everybody.
.

.

Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12)

.
네 부모를 공경하라.
그리하면
네 하나님 나 여호와가 네게 준 땅에서 네 생명이 길리라.

(출애굽기 20:12)

.

.

.

.

Welcome visitors to My personal homepage,http://www.mryoum.com/skin_youm_html/eindex.htm/ about religion / theology / health and disease / culture / sex.... ‘Continuity of Life’

,