Friday, October 08, 2004

Ignorance.

Ignorance is bliss. Or is it? They say that wisdom comes with age and we all remember the thoughtful sayings of the young and stupid; but do these really apply? Does gray hair come with intelligence? Maybe not, I mean doesn't gray hair come from stress? And if that is so, does intelligence come from stress? NO! They are just strung-out people frequenting the Walmart for Clariol #5 hair coloring. Seems to me if they were smart they would know of ways to avoid stress. But why do we always associate intelligence with age? All old people are not smart; some still can't work a VCR much less a DVD player. And how many people have you tricked with the "Spell VCR" joke? Seriously can we ever get to the bottom of the young/old intelligence arguement? Probably not, but here are some things I have noticed.

A) Young people have an enthusiam that everybody wants. They don't know their limits yet so they seem unstoppable. Notice I said "seem." Most young people find a realization of their limits in their mid twenties. The body starts to fail, health insurance goes up, but car insurance goes down. They usually make mistakes that will follow them until they are old. Young people do still have a thirst for knowledge, even if the lessons are learned the hard way. Some (without naming names), learn by challenging the limits of their own knowledge. Enthusiasm is great until it is pitted against experience. Then we see that kids don't know crap!

B) Older people see thier limits and refine to perfection their actions within those limits. This is what makes them seem wise. Again, "seem." With the possibility of losing their minds to disease or just natural decay, they try to hold on to their youth. This is a complete waste of time. When you can pass your knowledge on to others doesn't that make us last longer than dating people 10 yrs younger or buying a sports car? However, there are few who learn valuable lessons about pretending to be young or don't go that route altogether; they are truly wise. These people tend to live life to its fullest. They make the most of what little time they have left. They use their experience to shame the enthusiastic. It is wonderful.

Moral of this story: God uses people of all ages, but the ones we always talk about are over 25. IE...Paul, Moses, Abraham, Peter, JESUS!