Caring for the Elderly
One of the biggest dichotomies of caring for an elder parent is that when you are their child in their house, respect from the child was or should have been demanded to honor parents or a child’s caregivers.
Upon taking a parent in . . . Now you become the caregiver; it creates a new environment for you, as well as the parent. In our house, there is zero tolerance for lack of respect . . . so now, with all due honor and respect, the caregiver in turn has to demand respect from the parent.
Philippians 2:3 – “[Let] nothing [be done] through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”
Exodus 22:22 – “Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.”
Deuteronomy 27:19 – “Cursed is the one who perverts the justice due the stranger, the fatherless, and widow.”
Matthew 23:14 – “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
James 1:27 – “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”
Included with Permission
Exert of Article by Michael McKenzie – This article first appeared in the Volume 21 / Number 4 issue of the Christian Research Journal
THE BIBLE AND THE ELDERLY
The Bible is consistent and clear in its message about those who are least able to fend for themselves. In the Old Testament, God mentions widows and orphans among those who should be singled out for special care and protection (Exod. 22:22; Deut. 27:19). Jesus continues this pattern of divine care by heaping scorn on those who would go so far as to foreclose on widows’ homes (Matt. 23:14). James even says that caring for widows and orphans are the premier fruits of true worship of God (James 1:27).
Similarly, God reserves special wrath for people who would take advantage of either the blind or deaf, making their well-being a matter of justice
(Exod. 19:14–15: Deut. 27:18–19); that is, we owe justice to the widow, orphan, and those who may be disadvantaged in our society. Since it is clear from even the most cursory reading of the Scriptures that God desires justice for all people, His special mention of it in this context is evidently a warning to those who would take advantage of the weakest members in our society — those least likely to stand up for themselves.
