They Can Be Golden Years!
WHAT will the middle years be for you? “Golden years” or time of crisis? The “best” or “worst of times”? A “launching pad for a new phase of life” or a time of stagnation?
We are again reminded of the Bible’s words: “Whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap.” (Galatians 6:7) So how your middle years turn out depends much on you.
If you are a young person, this should be a very sobering thought. Middle age may seem very distant to you now. But it isn’t. Our lives “quickly pass by, and away we fly.” (Psalm 90:10) So if you neglect spiritual values now, you will pay the price later—despair and dissatisfaction with your life. If you fail to cultivate industriousness, self-control, knowledge and understanding, you will reap misery in your later years. Leave God out of your life now, and old age will be a time of “calamitous days” for you. Wise King Solomon therefore concluded that the wise course of action is to “fear the true God and keep his commandments.” (Ecclesiastes 12:1, 13) But first you have to learn about God. And a study of his Word, the Bible, is a fine place to start.
A New Start
What if you are already in your middle or even later years and are now paying the price for failing to “sow” an appreciation for right values and principles? Now is the time to change course.
‘But how?’ you may ask. Some middle-aged men and women try to find a measure of satisfaction and purpose in life by devoting themselves to community affairs or other helpful services. Others try to get a new lease on life by traveling, exploring, doing things they have always wanted to do but could never get around to doing. But there is something that can bring more satisfaction than any of these. You can experience it if you will take the time to familiarize yourself with the Bible and the hope that God offers for the future. Jehovah’s Witnesses will be glad to show you how to begin such a study. The benefit? A living hope!
Yes, that’s what Jehovah’s Witnesses have—a well-founded hope for the future. We believe that life has God-given purpose and that there is more to it than a fleeting 70 or 80 years. Our hope is in a heavenly government that will completely take over the management of the earth and eventually make it all a Paradise. This will allow humans the prospect of living forever, with full enjoyment of life!—Psalm 72:1-8; Revelation 21:3, 4; John 17:3.
Sharing this hope with others gives Jehovah’s Witnesses great personal satisfaction and a real purpose in life. Their middle and later years are filled with fruitful activity—helping others to know about God. One couple, for example, found themselves alone after their last son had left home. After a few lonely weeks the husband sat down with his wife and discussed the possibility of his obtaining part-time work so they could share Bible truths with others full time. “I feel like I’m ‘kicking a dead horse’ working this full-time job!” he said. They decided to pursue the goal of serving God full time. Today they have the joy of working together at the Watchtower Society’s headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, producing Bible literature such as this magazine.
Would not such a living faith make your middle years, or any years for that matter, a blessed time to be alive? Says Carmela, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses: “We’re on the threshold of a change to a perfect government. That’s how I feel and that’s what keeps me going and feeling happy.” Jehovah’s Witnesses would be happy to share their faith with you and to help you find joy and satisfaction that will endure for eternity.
So, while life does not really begin at 40, it doesn’t end there either. New opportunities now present themselves for you to learn and develop. Sober reflection may even move you to make some needed changes in your thinking and life-style. The wisdom gained through years of living has trained your “perceptive powers” to see things more clearly than ever before. (Hebrews 5:14) Married couples have a golden opportunity to draw ever closer to each other.
Much is up to you. Your middle years need not be a plunge into crisis. Use your knowledge, your resources, your experience and, above all, the wisdom that God’s Word gives, to make these years the happiest—the very best years of your life.
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“We’re on the threshold of a change to a perfect government. That’s how I feel and that’s what keeps me going and feeling happy”