|
 "Brothers
went into the army. And sisters got married BEFORE having children!
"Crime did not pay; hard work did; and people knew the difference.
"Moms could cook; Dads would
work; Children would behave.
"Husbands were loving; Wives were supportive; and children were polite.
"Women wore the jewelry; and
men wore the pants.
"Women looked like ladies; men looked like gentlemen; and children looked
decent.
"People loved the truth, and
hated a lie; they came to church to get IN, Not to get OUT!
"Hymns sounded Godly; sermons
sounded helpful; rejoicing sounded normal; and crying sounded sincere.
"Cursing was wicked; drinking
was evil; and divorce was unthinkable.
"The flag was honored; America was beautiful; and God was welcome!
"We read the Bible in public;
prayed in school; and preached from house to house.
"To be called an American was worth dying for; To be called a Christian was
worth living for; To be called a traitor was a shame!
"Sex was a personal word; Gay meant something completely different; and abortion was an illegal word.
"Preachers preached because they had a message and not afraid to preach the
truth, even if it got on a person's toes...and Christians rejoiced because they
had the VICTORY!
"Preachers preached from the Bible; Singers sang from the heart; and sinners
turned to the Lord to be SAVED!
"A new birth meant a new life; Salvation meant a changed life; following Christ
led to eternal life.
"Being a preacher meant you proclaimed the word of God; being a deacon meant you
would serve the Lord!
"Being a Christian meant you would live for Jesus; and being a sinner meant
someone was praying for you!
"Laws were based on the Bible; homes read the Bible; Churches taught the Bible.
"Preachers were more interested in new converts than new clothes and new cars.
"God was worshiped; Christ was exalted; and the Holy Spirit was respected.
"The Church building was where you found Christians on the Lord's Day, rather
than in the garden, on the creek bank, on the golf course, or being entertained
somewhere else.
"I still like the old paths the best. I believe it still is the only path to
heaven." —
Author unknown When I read what my cousin had sent to me, I reflected on what it meant even for
our current age sometimes referred to as the post-modern era. I do believe in
what the unknown author said ... if it was really true. Oh, don't get me wrong;
those values mentioned are true enough for that time period in which they were
intended. However, I'm not convinced that people even then actually believed all
of those things. If they had, when did they stop believing?
 Was it when Kinsey, during that time, wrote a "research" report that claimed
that most Americans engaged in some sort of aberrant sexual practice? Or was it
when Clark Gable, in the blockbuster movie "Gone With the Wind" uttered the
famous words, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn," that ushered in a filming
and television industry that now practices under a "no holds barred" philosophy?
If the values stated by the unknown author above were really the prevailing
beliefs, it would be truly sad that evil would have overcome good in such a
short time. The truth is, even in those bygone days of seemingly innocence
among the people, the so-called post-modern era bubbled with sin throughout
society for millenniums.
[to top of second column] |
 Actually, I believe that it all happened when we read, "She did
eat; and Adam ate also." —
Genesis 3:6
Disobedience to God entered
the creation and the spiraling effect of mankind's new-found evil
was put into motion. From that very beginning, the creation began to
unwind in a direction that was separated from God. The very nature
of man became evil and his heart hardened against the relationship
toward God and could never have returned to that place of honor with
God again. A gulf was established that banished mankind from
paradise and catapulted him into a journey that would eventually
bring him to a so-called post-modern world where human life has
little value outside of God's grace.
Throughout history we have all proven beyond a doubt that we are
ultimately capable of perpetrating upon our fellow earthly
inhabitants a mayhem that defies description. Even in the scope of
the recording of our own time, we saw the complete takeover by force
of the known world by Alexander the Great; the debauchery of the
thunderous Roman army as they placed thousands on as many crosses to
use as torches to light the night; the slaughter of thousands more
for entertainment in the "games"; and other infamous butchers like
Genghis Khan, Crusaders, Hitler, Stalin and the modern-day African
warlords and other dictators who implement genocide on entire
people groups. Neither have Americans escaped the evilness of the very nature of
fallen mankind: for example, the buying and selling of humans as objects and
using them as slaves to perpetrate injustice, even during the period
when the cradle of democracy was being formed. Even after the
establishment of the nation, America established policies to
systematically drive out the native owners of the land by force,
eventually destroying entire societies and cultures. From the very beginning of creation when mankind accepted the words
of evil and rejected the blessings of God, we have all sinned. The
Apostle Paul sums it up in his letter to the Romans, "We have all
sinned and come short of the glory of God." —
Romans 3:23 Thank God that He came to the rescue. The culmination and defeat of the evil one was pronounced when the
Creator said, "It is finished!" On the cross when Jesus looked out
over the world He had created, Jesus saw the sin and evil that is
continually generated by the "law of sin and death." On the cross
voluntarily, Jesus shed His own blood and created the bridge that
reconnected the way for the repentant person to return to God
through Jesus the Christ. Now we can, through personal choice, each
one, or none at all, maintain and practice values that align
ourselves with the evil one, or submit ourselves completely to the
Creator.
 Therefore, no matter how we see it —
those past values of which the
unknown author spoke and we love so much, or the "pointed tongue of
Kiss" and the lifestyle and worldview the "worldly" generation
holds —
we have the opportunity to see it all through the blood of
the worthy Lamb! As individuals we make our choice for or against Jesus. As we
receive forgiveness, righteousness and a spirit life in Jesus
through His Holy Spirit, by His power we are saved and made new
people. As we live in the life of the Spirit with Christ, it will
not erase the evilness throughout the world, even in America. God, through His Spirit, works through individuals who yield
themselves over to Him completely. The individual "sin nature" that
leads to death for that individual is totally replaced by a "spirit
nature" in Christ through His Holy Spirit. As we continue to yield
daily to His Spirit, we live through His power a life in the Spirit
and our sin nature is tied down. It is only when we take our eyes
off Jesus and the work He did on the cross that we push out His
Holy Spirit, lose the power and begin living again in the sin
nature. Until the day when Jesus returns to put an end to all the evilness
in the world order, many will continue living in that sin nature
that without Christ goes completely unchecked. Therefore, going back to the
"good old days" will never satisfy
one's soul. No matter what decade in which we grew up, we carry the sin
nature like a ball and chain to completely drag us down. It is only
when we yield ourselves over to the One Who is able to free us from
our sins that we are able to be truly free.
[By JIM KILLEBREW]
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