Don't long for "the good old days," for you don't know whether they were any better than today. ~Ecclesiastes 7:10 (NLT)
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Many people look back in our nation's history and think Ah, the '50s -- the "good ol' days" -- when kids were respectful and the music was clean...! But what about racism and the associated exclusion and violence against black people that was so rampant? (Do I need to paste some pics for you to remember?) Who can say that was good?!?
Or even further back...while we study and applaud the advances of European explorers who were discovering new worlds in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, their family and friends back home were reeling from massive casualties caused by repeated epidemics of the Black Plague.
We see what we want to see, and often ignore or forget what is unpleasant, so that we look backward through rose-colored glasses. Ever seen or known someone who refused to live in the present? They play oldies music, drive old cars, watch old television shows, and spend all their time talking about "the good ol' days". They seem to live in a time capsule, isolated from the present by their grasping of the past. But was the past all that great? Probably not as rosy as their vision would like them to believe.
We like to say that this generation is the worst ever. Please don't kid yourselves. If our dead ancestors could tell their tales, I think we'd see that there's truly nothing new under the sun. What is has been, and what was will be again. So, do we continue to spend our days looking in the rear view mirror, longing for the past, or do we look forward at what God is doing and will do? How will God use us for positive change in this generation we think is so bad? Are we willing to be used?
Yes, God sees and knows all that's going on in the world...poverty, injustice, depression, oppression, inflation, immorality, family dysfunction. But shame on us if we stick our heads in the sand, blasting our generation without lifting a finger to help make a difference. God is the Great Healer, the Great Restorer, the Great Reconciler . . . and He calls His people to be agents for good, agents for change. We cannot afford to close our eyes and refuse to look at God's call on our lives to meet the needs around us.
Oh, and btw, if you look for good, you'll find it. The "good ol' days" can be the "good now days"!
Love,
Joelene
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2 comments:
I love this subject. My father and I go back and forth on this all the time. He thinks things today are just not as good as they were when he was young. We go round and round and usually come to the conclusion that, like you say, no particular time is history is better or worse, they're simply different.
Look at the problems that are written about in the Bible. The condition of mankind's heart has not changed one iota in the thousands of years that have passed. Technology marches on, but not the human heart.
I like what you ask, though. What are we doing to have an effect for God's kingdom?
You are so right, Mike, about technology and the human heart. Thanks for sharing!
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