Approaching ageing by asking, ‘Where does my value rest?’

This article was first published by Evangelicals Now on 12 March 2026.

A couple of weeks ago, a supermarket assistant ID’d me when I tried to buy a box of matches.

I thought it was hilarious. She, having discovered that I’m in my mid-30s, was mortified. But in her defence, perhaps my hat was to blame (or thank).

Since then, I’ve had new passport photos taken which highlight the silver threads in my hair. I’ve also discovered that I’m too old for the Evangelical Alliance’s survey about young people and – probably the greatest indignation of all – Amazon seems to think I’m the target audience for adverts about cleaning products.

It’s all a lot to process.

That last comment is stretching things. But it’s fair to say that these humorous moments have been thought-provoking.

Are my reactions largely muted because I honestly don’t mind getting older? Or are they muted because I’m just not very old yet? I don’t want to plague my younger years with anxiety about getting older. At the same time, I want my lack of concern to come from a peace that’s rooted in Biblical wisdom rather than from simply postponing the anxiety to a later date.

Anxiety about ageing?

There are reasons to be anxious. In 2021, over a third of Scottish over-50s said that they have been “made to feel a burden to society” while over half of them said that “older people are not valued for their contribution to society”. Their discouragement is awful – and particularly so in the light of the ongoing debate about legalising assisted suicide. But it would be naïve to find it surprising.

A cursory glance at the headlines shows that, while there are certainly some articles dedicated to finding the positives in ageing, there are multiple articles that blame our ageing demographic for everything from employment issues to strains on the NHS.

And there are many more in which the effects of ageing are seen as something to mitigate or avoid altogether, whether through the more ordinary approaches of changes in exercise or diet or skincare routines, or through the innovative and sometimes bizarre schemes undertaken by the super-rich.

How do we approach ageing?

It’s tempting to approach ageing with a positive perspective that’s based on how much older people have to give. And, of course, there is a lot of truth underlying this approach.

I’ve encountered so many faithful older saints in my years working for Christian organisations. These are the people for whom it matters that the prayer calendar is published in good time, because they are so incredibly diligent in praying daily for the organisation in question.

These are the people who turn up early for prayer meetings and who make it a priority to learn the names of all the staff so that they can pray for them by name.

These are the people who have deep wells of wisdom about faith and the church and the world and who are so often particularly good at listening to the troubles of others.

My hesitation with approaching ageing from this perspective is that it determines value on the basis of what someone can give or do, rather than on who they are. And this makes me deeply nervous.

If our assessment of our older saints’ value is based on the extent to which they serve us, how do we regard them when they can’t? Do we still regard them with affection for their previous service?

But what if their out-of-action season has gone on so long that no one remembers how they served before? What then?

The Bible’s view of ageing

Ageing sheds a particularly clear light on these questions. But the reality is that these are questions which affect how each of us regards everyone else – including how we regard ourselves. It’s just that many of us don’t mind (or even notice) being judged in this way when the outcome is apparently favourable.

The difficulties often become noticeable only when the outcome changes. But those difficulties reveal what the Bible has been trying to tell us all along: our worth does not come from our capacity to serve others. (If it did, we would have to rethink how God regards us – Acts 17v25.)

No, the worth of every human being is determined by their being made in the image of God (Gen. 1v27).

That is sufficient justification to celebrate and respect those who are old. We need not – and, in fact, we should not – look for supplementary reasons, because sometimes those reasons fail. By all means, let’s celebrate the beautiful ways in which the Lord works in and through our older saints. But let’s keep our thanksgiving for the Lord’s work in people separate from our assessment of their worth. Jesus does (Luke 12v7). And we want to be like Jesus!

This should be a challenge to how we approach ageing.

It should be a challenge to how I approach ageing.

The point is not to dismiss any anxiety because I have plenty of time before the effects of ageing really begin to bite. Nor is the point to pretend changes are easy – it is good for us to lament those things that we find hard in this fallen world of ours. The point is rather to consider where we believe our value rests.

Let’s help one another to prayerfully build our identity on the Rock now. And then when the storm comes – whether it’s old age or whatever else – we will all be able to stand.