"Elderitis: Symptoms, Side Effects, and Cure"

This blog is written by Carlton Coon, Sr.

I remember the first time a younger minister called me “Elder . . ..” When Chris Thornton said it I did a double-take and looked behind me to see who he was talking to.

These days, I have to own the word and do not want to overlook what can be learned from one “elder.”

It is the elder brother of Luke 15. That elder’s attitude and actions should never be mine.

• The “elder” was filled with a horrible spirit of envy and jealousy towared the younger. (Luke 15:25-27)

• The “elder” found service a drudgery instead of a delight. (Luke 15:28-29) He was a not lazy — but one mark of carnality, of a low spiritual state can be an overabundance of work with little time for relationship with the Father. Per Greek scholars, the elder said, “These many years have I been slaving for you.”

• The “elder” was dominated by self. Self-interest is center stage in his communication with his father.

• The “elder” was full of base ingratitude. Read verse 29 again and hear him complain. He speaks of his "friends." How much he had to be thankful for: the father, the father’s house, the prosperity his family experienced, having friends. The positives were put in the shade by his selfishness. As an elder, how thankful am I?

• The ‘elder” brother showed no concern of sympathy for the lost. Verse 30 is tragic. How tragic verse 30 is! Do you detect his compete lack of sympathy with both his father and brother as he says, "Thy son . . . thy living... harlots ... ?

• The '“elder” was out of step with the interests of his father. The father had one longing, one passion, and that was of see his lost son back home. Did the “elder” share his father’s burden? No! Do we?

It is easy to lose sight of the interests of the Father, let it not be said that this happens to this generation of Sage-agers. Let’s be a different kind of elder.