Uncle Irohs in the Bible (Elder Warriors)

Uncle Iroh is the most boss elderly man in animation.  It's just a fact.  Go ahead and watch any compilation video of Iroh (Avatar: The Last Airbender) and you will likely find two main themes: his words of wisdom and him getting buff/prepped to do battle. Honestly, he is one of the top elderly characters in an animated series that can bless you with wisdom and will go shoulder-to-shoulder with you in a fight (next to Jim Gordon, I had to rep BTAS here). A question I pose to you and to our culture in general is, how come it is so rare to see this kind of thing? How come we don't see more sages/elders who don't just drop wisdom bombs, but are ready to step up as warriors as well? 'Cause I would totally follow and listen to an elder like Iroh, who was there for his nephew at his lowest point and took the time to invest in him; showing him true wisdom as well as character that he could strive for.

What spurred this on was some of my personal reading time in the book of Joshua.  It was in chapter 8:10, "Early the next morning Joshua roused his men and started toward Ai, accompanied by the elders of Israel." I had to do a retake and reread the scripture to make sure that I read it right and sure enough it was right there.  I even looked it up in Hebrew (now we are getting Bible nerdy here) to make sure it was the right word and not a translation issue (very nerdy). "Elders" here is to depict older people, like with gray hairs and all. However, these elders would later be most known as judiciary advisors outside of Jerusalem's walls/gates to settle civil matters amongst the people.  So these are elders of wisdom, but are willing to step into a fight, especially with a young(ish) leader like Joshua who is starting to build the territory of Israel.  This really gave me a whole new appreciation to the phrase "Listen to your elders," and even made me add on to it "or they will take you out!"  For me, these are the Uncle Irohs of the Bible. Not simply content with passing on wisdom, but elders who are willing stand alongside you in the lesson as well as the fight.

Who are some Uncle Irohs that are in your proximity/community? Are you willing to take the time to connect with them to glean their wisdom and call for their help in more than just words?

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