I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.
- 1 Corinthians 4:3-4
This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
- 1 John 3:19-20
as long as I have life within me,
the breath of God in my nostrils,
- Job 27:3
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
- Acts 20:24
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy 4:7
The New Boilerplate
My wife filled a small book with “Angel” on the cover. It was hidden with a box of crafting things. On 18 July 2025, I thought I had posted the last of these. But this little angel book held a prayer, followed by 71 quotes. So, the “with a little help” series is back in business for a while. And it will be fun for me. She did not attribute any of the quotes. The first quote was from James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the USA. The next one was disputed, with some thinking it originated with Teddy Roosevelt and others saying Fred Astaire. After the prayer, these might be on the lighter side.
Her quote
“We do not count a man’s years until he has nothing else to count.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson, Society and Solitude, essay Old Age
The Discussion
Ralph Waldo Emerson was a transcendentalist philosopher. He felt humans were inherently good, but they were corrupted by societal influences. Henry David Thoreau was a close friend of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Walden Pond is basically across the street from the Emerson family home, and Emerson influenced Thoreau a great deal. But the flaws in their philosophy soon emerged.
Getting back to nature and avoiding the societal influences could help us become better humans, in his opinion. But in reality, to what end? If there is inherent good within us and this good can only come out when we withdraw from society, that lessens society by our not interacting with it. Society becomes more of a cesspool than ever with good people leaving.
But whether we are transcending as with Emerson’s philosophy or we are being sanctified by God to be more like Jesus, we are poor judges of our growth. And there is always something else we can do.
And regardless of the legacy left behind, once we are remembered by our tombstone, all that is left is our birth date, and the day we leave this earth.
When I read the quote, I thought of two people: my brother and my wife. Of all the people I have met, people have put me down for any number of reasons, some good and some bad. But my brother and I got into an argument when he reached his 20th birthday. He was twice as old as I was, only for four months, and then never again. But the argument nearly came to blows, and my mother sat by, pleased that my brother had the last word, that he would always be older than me. Mostly my brother and I never fought, but I have always remembered this argument.
When you die, your age is fixed. I have reached an age of five years older than what is on his tombstone.
The other was my wife. Whenever she wanted to end an argument quickly and come out on top, she would playfully tell me to listen to my elders, namely her. She claimed to be two years older, and to be honest, she was closer to two years older rather than one year older. But she has now been gone for three years and another birthday for me is looming, God willing.
I know, age is just a number, and part of the interpretation of what Emerson said is that it does not matter the number of years we have lived, but the living that is done during those years.
I have more time left and that time will be kept glorifying God and praising Him.
And when that is our purpose, the age does not matter at all as long as there is still breath with which to praise God.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory
Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley 
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