![[Photo of a perplexed old man]](https://www.deankwilson.com/Blog_images/perplexed_old_man.jpg)
| Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. |
| —Titus 2:2 |
If we’ve never met, you have a distinct advantage over those who have met me. As you read this blog post, you can take my words at face value without making a mental reference to the person whom you know wrote them. Let me share a secret with those of you who have never met me. Most people do not like me—at least that’s what some “friends” tell me in an unguarded moment of truth.
Apparently, to the vast majority of the people who know me, I come across as arrogant, or angry, or unkind, or standoffish, or… Well, in your imagination, you can formulate your own list of my undesireable qualities. When my “friends” tell me this, it wounds me deeply. I don’t revel in the fact that people don’t like me. But, no matter how hard I try to behave differently, I still always end up being exactly who I am. And, who I am seems, apparently, unacceptable to the vast majority of people who know me.
So, when I read the verse at the beginning of this blog post, I am moved to tears. Apparently these very important and necessary qualities of an older man elude me and this makes me feel ashamed. Nevertheless, I know that these words of the Apostle Paul ring true.
God expects His beloved followers to become mature in their faith in Him. He wants them to grow up and into maturity. As mature believers, God expects older men to display sober minds, self control, a soundness in their faith, a soundness in their love, and a soundness in their steadfastness, and to also display an appropriate dignity.
Perhaps, like me, you find yourself lacking in one, or all, of these important qualities. If so, you likely need to join me in asking God to do a new work in our lives that will result in these quallities coming alive within us. That seems like the best thing we can do. Otherwise, we just keep failing.
