Online Sermons
Lesson #16 - The Role Of Grandparents
Series: Home-BuildersLESSON #16 – THE ROLE OF GRANDPARENTS
INTRODUCTION
Josh Mulvihill 's book, A New Way Of Life For The Old, is the outgrowth of his PhD dissertation and years of focused study.
In his research, he detected a great uncertainty concerning the meaning and purpose of old age.
Specifically, that ambiguity surrounds the grandparent role. Some have labeled such to be “cultural crisis”.
Stated plainly, many grandparents, including Christian grandparents, do not know what is expected of them.
Mulvihill bemoans the trend in contemporary children's literature to depict a grandparent's role as one of playmate and companion.
AN AGING CULTURE TURNING INWARD
Andrew Belchman's book, Leisureville, captures two primary roles of grandparents in American culture: independence and
indulgence. He explores what life is like for a retired person living in The Villages, a gated community in Florida. The Villages
is larger than Manhattan, boasts a population of over 100,000, and has a golf course for every day of the month, its own news-
paper, radio and TV station. The Villages is missing only one thing: children. The Villages not only encourages, but legalizes the segregation of ages from one another. No one under the age of nineteen may live there. Children may visit, but are strictly limited
to a total of thirty days a year. When Dave, one of the residents was asked if he was comfortable living in a community without
children, he answered, I'm not thirteen...I want to spend my time with people who are my own age. Another resident says, I raised
my children and I didn't want to raise anyone else's. These residents have an appreciation for a new and growing phenomenon in
American culture: age segregation. In general, society has lost its compass regarding why the generations should interact, how they
are to do so, and what responsibilities each has to the other. / Excerpted from, The Biblical Role Of Grandparents, by Josh Mulvihill.
WISDOM FROM ABOVE
Ps.128:6 / It is indeed a blessing to see your children's children.
Ps.71:18 / O God, Thou hast taught me from my youth; And I shall declare Thy wondrous deeds. Even though I am old and
gray, do not leave me, God. I will tell the children about Your power; I will tell those who live after me about Your might.
Prov.17:6 / grandchildren are the crown of old men...
Prov.13:22 / A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children.
Deut.4:9 / Give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen,
and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and grandsons.
2Tim.1:5 / I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice.
KIDS SAY THE CUTEST THINGS
In an unofficial survey taken several years ago, children were asked - -
How do grandmas differ from your mother?
Usually give you things … they like for you to eat a lot ... they hug too much ... they are harder to explain things to.
How do grandpas differ from your dad?
Have better stories to tell … they get sicker than fathers … they need more naps … they let you do things that fathers say
you aren't old enough to do … they think you are the greatest child in the world, when everybody knows that you aren't.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. What kind of inheritance (Prov.13:22) do you want to bequeath to your grandchildren?
Shouldn't the legacy/heritage we leave behind be much more than just mammon?
2. How important is that little “and” in Deut.4:9 - - making God's providence known to your sons AND grandsons?
What does it mean to be an intentional grandparent?
3. As a grandparent, how can one excel at interaction at without interference?
Do some grandparents tend to be meddlesome?
4. Whereas it is often helpful to look forward, is there also intrinsic value in looking back? cf. Psalm 78
