The Crown You Can't Buy: Text: Proverbs 16:31
Introduction: A Culture of Spray Paint and Denial
We live in a culture that is terrified of old age. It is a culture of Grecian Formula, hair plugs, and an endless, desperate quest to remain "forever young." Our society worships at the altar of youth, strength, and fleeting beauty, and consequently, it views the inevitable process of aging as a kind of ultimate defeat. The elderly are not seen as the vanguard, but as the stragglers. They are shuffled off to retirement communities, their wisdom is ignored, and their gray hair is treated as something to be covered up, a sign of decay to be denied. This is not just a shallow cultural preference; it is a profound theological error. It is a rebellion against the created order and the God who ordained it.
When a society despises the elderly, it is because that society despises the God who gives long life as a blessing. When a culture sees gray hair as a problem to be solved, it is because it has rejected the biblical category of glory. Our world wants glory, to be sure, but it wants a cheap glory. It wants the glory of the highlight reel, the glory of the airbrushed magazine cover, the glory that can be purchased and manufactured. It wants a crown, but it wants a plastic one.
Into this frantic and pathetic denial of reality, the book of Proverbs speaks a word of solid, weighty truth. It presents a vision of aging that is not a curse, but a coronation. It tells us that there is a glory that cannot be faked, a beauty that cannot be bought, and a crown that is forged only in the crucible of a long obedience in the same direction. But, and this is the critical point, this glory is not automatic. It is not a participation trophy for having a pulse for seventy-five years. It is a conditional glory, a contingent crown. Time alone does not make a man wise or glorious; it simply makes him old. An old fool is a more potent fool than a young one, because he has had more practice. The Bible's promise is far more specific, and therefore, far more glorious.
The Text
Gray hair is a crown of beauty;
It is found in the way of righteousness.
(Proverbs 16:31 LSB)
A Crown of Beauty (v. 31a)
The first clause lays down the glorious principle.
"Gray hair is a crown of beauty..." (Proverbs 16:31a)
The Hebrew word for gray hair here is 'sebah,' which refers to the hoary head, the white hair of old age. And the Bible calls this a crown. A crown is a symbol of royalty, of authority, of victory, and of honor. It is not a sign of weakness, but of high station. Another proverb says, "The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair" (Proverbs 20:29). Notice the parallel. The world understands the glory of a young man's strength. We celebrate athletes in their prime. But God sets up a contrast. That youthful glory is temporary. It fades. But it is replaced by another kind of glory, a different splendor: the gray head.
This is a direct polemic against the idolatry of youth. God Himself is described in Scripture as the "Ancient of Days," whose hair was like pure wool (Daniel 7:9). Our Lord Jesus, in His glorified state, has a head and hair that are "white like wool, as white as snow" (Revelation 1:14). God is not embarrassed by age. White hair in Scripture is an emblem of divine wisdom, purity, and majesty. Therefore, when a man or woman's hair turns gray, they are, in a certain sense, beginning to image the eternal God in a new way. It is a gift, a promotion from God.
To call it a crown of "beauty" or "glory" is also crucial. This is not the world's definition of beauty. The world's beauty is skin deep and fades like a flower. Biblical beauty is the radiance of a life lived rightly. It is the visible manifestation of an inward character that has been shaped and hammered on the anvil of time and trial. This is why we are commanded to "rise up before the gray headed and honor the face of an old man" (Leviticus 19:32). This is not a suggestion; it is a command tied directly to the fear of the Lord. To dishonor the aged is to dishonor God. To treat their crown as a dunce cap is an act of rebellion.
The Royal Road (v. 31b)
But this crown is not handed out to just anyone who manages to live a long time. The second clause provides the absolutely essential condition. It tells us where this crown is located.
"It is found in the way of righteousness." (Proverbs 16:31b)
The crown is not found in the salon. It is not found in a bottle of dye. It is found "in the way of righteousness." This is the path, the road, the manner of life that is pleasing to God. The beauty of the gray head is entirely dependent on the character of the life lived under it. An old man who is a bitter, lecherous, unbelieving sinner is not glorious. He is a tragedy. His long life has simply been a long opportunity to store up wrath for the day of judgment (Romans 2:5). His gray hairs are not a crown, but rather witnesses against him, testifying to decades of stubborn rebellion.
So we must understand that proverbs are not like axioms in geometry. They describe how the world works under the government of God. In God's economy, righteousness tends toward life, and wickedness tends toward death. "The fear of the LORD prolongs days, but the years of the wicked will be shortened" (Proverbs 10:27). A long life is generally the fruit of a righteous life, a life of wisdom, self-control, and faithfulness. The man who fears God avoids the kind of foolishness that cuts a life short, the brawling, the drunkenness, the adultery, the recklessness.
But it is more than just a long life. The "way of righteousness" is the path of covenant faithfulness. It is the man who has walked with God for fifty, sixty, or seventy years. He has seen the Lord's faithfulness through wars and peace, through prosperity and hardship. He has raised his children in the fear of the Lord. He has been a faithful husband, a steady worker, a pillar in the church. His mind is a storehouse of wisdom, and his heart is a testimony to God's preserving grace. That is the man whose gray hair is a crown. He has finished the race, or is nearing the finish line, and the visible sign of his long journey is a mark of high honor. He wears the uniform of a veteran in the Lord's army.
Conclusion: Pursuing the Crown
This proverb has two clear applications, one for the young and one for the old.
For those of you who are young, this proverb is a call to action. Do you want to be honored in your old age? Do you want that crown of glory? Then you must get on the path of righteousness now. The foundation for a glorious old age is laid in a godly youth. Remember your Creator in the days of your youth (Ecclesiastes 12:1). The decisions you make today, the habits you form, the character you build, are all forging the crown you will one day wear, or demonstrating that you will have nothing to show for your years but rust.
Do not despise the wisdom of the aged saints among you. Seek them out. Ask them questions. Learn from their mistakes and their victories. See that crown on their head and recognize its value. In a world that tells you to ignore them, the Bible tells you to honor them and learn from them. The path they have walked is the one you must walk to find the crown.
For those of you who are older, whose hair is already gray, this proverb is both a comfort and a charge. It is a comfort because God Himself declares your age to be a thing of beauty and glory, provided you are His. Do not buy the world's lie. Do not be ashamed of the marks of your pilgrimage. Your wrinkles are road maps of God's faithfulness. Your gray hair is your crown. Wear it with dignity. God gave it to you as a mark of honor.
But it is also a charge. You are to live a life worthy of that crown. You are to be reservoirs of wisdom, not pools of bitterness. You are to be models of righteousness for the younger generation. Your task is not done. You are to teach the younger men and women (Titus 2:2-5). You are to tell of the mighty deeds of the Lord to the next generation (Psalm 71:18). You have been set on a hill. Your long life in the way of righteousness makes you conspicuous. Therefore, live righteously. Finish the race well. Let the beauty of the Lord your God be upon you, so that when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory that your gray hairs so beautifully anticipate.