"Antiquity in itself establishes nothing. After all, Cain was older than Abel. Charles Spurgeon noted in this regard, 'Antiquity is often pleaded as an authority; but our King makes short work of them of old time.'" -- Douglas Wilson, Not as the Scribes: A Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount
While age may grant one a hearing, it does not guarantee obedience. Being older does not necessarily make one wise, although it does have its advantages. Perspective is at least possible from that vantage point. However, an elder is more than elderly. To be fair, rarely will one be qualified as an elder until they have some age, but they shouldn't be prohibited by age per se anymore than they should be promoted by age per se. We must be careful not to remove ancient landmarks too quickly or to rely on them too flippantly.
Proverbs 22:28
Do not move the ancient landmark that your fathers have set.
Chesterton advised that a landmark should not be moved unless and until its presence there in the first place can be explained. You owe a landmark a certain respect for the simple fact that someone intentionally put it there in order to mark something on purpose. That said, our ancestors were not right merely because they are now dead. Some of our dead ancestors were wrong. Just as they had to think through how and what to do, so we must do the same in our day. We should benefit from their wisdom without failing to utilize ours.
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