1. There is some literature we assign to younger people that is good for them to read but impossible for them to understand. I think many of Shakespeare’s plays fit this category as well as the book of Ecclesiastes. I might even put Peter’s letters in that category. His letters to the young church are written from the perspective of an older and wiser man who has experienced a great deal of suffering before he wrote. Peter could not have written these letters as a young man.

2. There are times I struggle with why people who are so obviously crooked or corrupt seem to get through life so easily. What is the sense of doing the right thing when it is not honesty or integrity that is rewarded? Peter’s question is mine. “What will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” That’s when I go to Psalm 73 to realize that it is not mine to know. However, I do know this. I am in good company when I ask, “Why do the wicked prosper?”

“Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. 2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. 3 For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. 5 They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills. 6 Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. 7 From their callous hearts comes iniquity ; their evil imaginations have no limits. 8 They scoff, and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression. 9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth. 10 Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance. 11 They say, “How would God know? Does the Most High know anything?” 12 This is what the wicked are like— always free of care, they go on amassing wealth. 13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence. 14 All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments. 15 If I had spoken out like that, I would have betrayed your children. 16 When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply 17 till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. 18 Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. 19 How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! 20 They are like a dream when one awakes; when you arise, Lord, you will despise them as fantasies. 21 When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, 22 I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. 23 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 27 Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. 28 But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.”

What is the key to keeping our feet from slipping? What allows us to understand why some people seem to escape the consequences of their behavior? How do we avoid the oppressive burden of trying to understand this?

We stay close to God and desire nothing on earth more than we desire closeness to God. We do not envy the arrogant but make the Sovereign Lord our refuge.

3. In spite of his position in the church and the respect with which he is held he writes this as an appeal – not a directive. He is not a celebrity or a CEO. He is simply a co-elder. He is not writing as the Pope or even as an apostle or leader of the church.

Titles, positions, rank and hierarchy have no importance for him any longer. The days of arguing about who will be the greatest or who is the most loved are over. We don’t have many letters from old men in the New Testament – only Peter and John and perhaps James – and they share some of the same characteristics. They are appeals. They are wisdom literature and best read and understood when you have some mileage on you.

His identity is in what he has to share with the young church – not in what he has accumulated or owns. We are reading from a wise old man who has been through suffering himself and not been distorted by it. These are the themes of his life: endurance, perseverance, submission, humility and suffering.

4. What are the traps of service in the life of a shepherd in the church?

A sense of compulsion: This is something I resent but I have to do is common. I don’t like sheep.

A sense of compulsiveness: This is something I do because it gives me my identity.

Pew Research this week released a study on why people pick a church. It’s no surprise. 85% of people who join a new church do so based on the quality of the preaching. Second is the friendliness of the staff and leadership but that is far down the list. Opportunities to serve or be involved in Bible study are at the bottom of the list. The pressure on preachers to be appealing is enormous and is only increasing as people put more and higher expectations on them.

Ulterior motives of “base gain”.

Base gain is not always money. It is for some but not for many. The other forms of greed are just as dangerous – respect, power, influence, misplaced love, position, deference. All these things are as appealing as money to many.

In a sense, base gain is what happens when we live with an expectation that doing good will serve our purposes instead of serving with no ulterior motives or expectations. It doesn’t sound very appealing but it is serving because it is your assignment – not really your volunteer work.

I think it is important to think about what Viktor Frankl says in “Man’s Search For Meaning”:

“It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life—daily and hourly. Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.”

5. Old men and young men.

What do older men “owe” to younger men? This is not a gift or even a choice but an obligation.

1. We owe an example. “Cat’s In The Cradle” I want to be just like you.
2. We owe responsibility as elders. We are never too old to be past temptation.
3. We owe an eagerness to serve – enthusiastic for service not recognition or position.
4. We owe not lording it over them.

2 Samuel 2:12-16: 12 Abner son of Ner, together with the men of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon.(U) 13 Joab(V) son of Zeruiah and David’s men went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. One group sat down on one side of the pool and one group on the other side. 14 Then Abner said to Joab, “Let’s have some of the young men get up and fight hand to hand in front of us.” “All right, let them do it,” Joab said. 15 So they stood up and were counted off—twelve men for Benjamin and Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, and twelve for David. 16 Then each man grabbed his opponent by the head and thrust his dagger(W) into his opponent’s side, and they fell down together. So that place in Gibeon was called Helkath Hazzurim.

5. We owe an investment in their future – not a sense of competition or intimidation.

What do older men have to give to the young? Not an obligation but a gift.

1. Patience – Barnabas and Saul/Peter and Mark
2. Time – Peter Greer’s 2+2+2. Two hours/Two times a year/Two years.
3. Mentoring – Wisdom from distilled experience.

“Mentoring is a one-on-one relationship between a mentor and mentored for the specific and definable development of a skill or art. One of my favorite mentoring stories is the young pianist who came to Leonard Berstein and asked to be mentored by him. Bernstein said, “Tell me what you want to do and I will tell you whether or not you’re doing it.”

When you analyze this, you realize Bernstein’s deep understanding of mentoring. The young man initiated the contact, he had a specific request, and he made the request of an authority – not that he might get rich as a concert pianist or famous like Bernstein, but that he might become a better pianist.

Bernstein essentially said to the young man, “You’re responsible for your playing and your practice. The one thing you can’t do is hear yourself as a great conductor hears you. That I can do and will do for you.”

The study of mentoring can be organized but not the application. Effective mentoring has no set formula. It’s a living relationship and progresses in fits and starts.”

What do young men owe the older? Not nearly as much. Respect for age that has earned it.

I think younger men are best served by being proactive in seeking out older men they can respect. Even though it is owed to older men, it is far more productive to find men who have earned respect not just because of their age.

What do the young have to give to the older?

1. Hope for the future. There are so many reasons to despair that having hope is precious.
2. Value for wisdom and not just success.
3. A taste of glory. To see the “fruits of our labors” in the lives of the young is glory.

6. Cast all your anxieties on him because he cares for you.

The word for cast is not like the word for throw or toss. It comes from Leviticus 16:20-22. 20 “When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat.21 He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. 22 The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.

The word for “cares” means “that which divides us”. It’s not immobilizing fear but those things that distract us and cause us to be somewhere else. In Psalm 86 David asks God to give him an “undivided heart” and that is the opposite of what Peter is describing here. We live with divided hearts and divided minds. We have something else on our minds constantly.

63% of people surveyed report worries about money as the biggest distraction in their lives followed by health, relationships, aging and work. It’s always in the back of their minds. Here’s what is more interesting: 41% of those surveyed admit to manufacturing reasons to worry. They make up scenarios that are unlikely to ever happen. They live in anticipation of trouble.
These cares separate not only our minds and hearts but they separate us from other people because we are always distracted – even when we are pretending to be listening.
That is why the words from Leviticus are so important. Put both hands – our full attention – on those cares and lay them on him.

We are not to live a burden free life. Jesus lived with suffering, hardship, sorrow and burdens but he did not live with anxiety. He understood how God cares. God has an undivided heart toward us. He is not distracted.

I think the care of God is not just comfort. I think it goes back to what Frankl said about life. God gives each of us a task in life – a responsibility and expectation.

I thought about these verses watching a talk by Eric Greitens – the author of “The Warrior’s Heart”. Eric was a Navy SEAL. His initial class of 221 was reduced to only 20 men who finished the training. He said, “I saw very few men quit while they were doing something harder than they could imagine. They quit when they started anticipating how hard the next thing was going to be.” It is not difficulty that makes us quit but the anticipation of difficulty.

He said something else. Most of the men who returned home and experienced PTSD did so because of two things: they were disconnected from people and they lost their sense of mission. That is why he created “The Mission Continues” for wounded and disabled vets. He links them with mentors and helps them create meaningful missions of service.

That is exactly what the church can be and that is what is described in these verses. Relationships that keep us connected and focused on service, humility, perseverance, wisdom and the crown of glory that will never fade away.