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Oh, For The Good
Old Days!
"The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise."
[Proverbs 12:15]
Oh, for the good old days, when even the unsaved
in America knew that gambling, smoking,
drinking, gluttony, gossip, immodesty and slothfulness were sins. Now, our world is
filled with professing Christians who seem to love the things their lost
neighbors love, without distinction. What happened to God's command to
separate the holy from the profane?...
"Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my
sabbaths, and I am profaned among them." [Ezekiel 22:26]
Oh, for the good old days when even the unsaved
seemed to know what modesty
meant. Now we have a generation of professing Christians who expose more of
themselves at the beach (as if they should even be at the beach), than their
great-grandparents would ever have thought even a harlot would have the gall to
parade around in...
"Take the millstones, and grind meal:
uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the
rivers. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I
will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man." [Isaiah 47:2-3 ]
"The just LORD is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust
knoweth no shame." [Zephaniah 3:5]
Oh, for the good old days, when parents acted like the heads of
their households, instead of patsies at the beck and call of their tyrannical
spoiled children when even the unsaved knew - if you spared the rod,
you would surely spoil the child. Nowadays, we have professing Christian parents
reasoning with toddlers - never mind their older children - when the only
reasoning those toddlers need is to have their backside swatted -
long enough to put the fear of God in them - not just long enough to get
them to let out a few faked cries of pain so their parents will stop the
spanking right away. The tail is wagging the dog as children manipulate parents
who are woefully ignorant of basic principles of child discipline. Believe it or
not, by God's grace, it is possible for children to have a fear of punishment
without having a fear of their parents. And it is possible for parents to be
swift and firm in discipline while reassuring their children that they love them...
"He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him
betimes (i.e. often!)." [Proverbs 13:24]
"Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying."
[Proverbs 19:18]
"Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell. Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him."
[Proverbs 23:13-15]
Oh, for the good old days when adults knew the meaning of "children are
better seen than heard". This adage has much wisdom hidden in it.
Parents are responsible for having a watchful eye on their children and not to
let them hang out with whomever they want, unchaperoned or unsupervised.
This quote also indicates that adults understood that properly disciplined
children knew how to conduct themselves and they knew when it was appropriate
and polite to speak and what kind of talk was proper...
"Better is an handful with quietness,
than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit."
[Ecclesiastes 4:6]
"And that ye study to be quiet, and to do
your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you" [1
Thessalonians 4:11]
Oh, for the good old days before television, movies and video games, when
people used their time productively and constructively. While today, even
professing Christians ignore God's command to redeem the time and instead, they
slothfully and sinfully set wicked things before their eyes every day and all
day long, being worse than lazy, setting a horrendous example for their children
and for the lost who need to see Christians busy about their Master's work, not
busy becoming more and more desensitized to sin...
"I went by the field of the slothful, and
by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down."
[Proverbs 24:30-31]
"By much slothfulness the building
decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through."
[Ecclesiastes 10:18]
Oh, for the good old days, when Christians were thankful that their brothers
and sisters in Christ corrected them and instructed them in the way of God more
perfectly - as Pricilla and Aquila of the New Testament. But sadly, today,
we have a growing number of Christians who cry legalism! and judgementalism!
when someone dares to question the goings on in their lives. Such an attitude is
a defense mechanism of those who wish to remain comfortable in their sin. If
this kind of attitude is tolerated, it will promote more and more sin in the
lives of the local congregation. Sin does not go away if we close our eyes
to it. Likewise, sin is still sin even if everyone does not recognize it
as such...
"Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for
us" [1Corinthians 5:6-7]
"Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass
against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him." [Luke 17:3]
"Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also
may fear." [1 Timothy 5:20]
"Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time? Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?"
[Luke 12:56-57]
"But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my
reproof"
[Proverbs 1:25]
"I speak to your shame. Is it so,
that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge
between his brethren?" [1 Corinthians 6:5]
Oh, for the good old days! Was
there really less sin in the world or in this country in days gone by? Not
necessarily. However, there have been times in history where God's people, as a
whole, have been more conformed to Christ in their manner of living and less
blinded to their sins than they appear to be in this day and age. And we cannot
ignore the fact that one's outward behavior is a reflection of the inner man. We
are self-deceived if we say that a believer can talk and act like his unsaved
neighbors and yet be in the will of his Lord and Master and not in need of
correction and repentance. When we accept mediocrity and sin that we do see we
can expect the unseen sins to go on unchecked also. Is it merely the job of the
local police department to deal with sin? Or by some chance, has God addressed
this issue for His people?...
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness" [2 Timothy 3:16]
"Am I therefore become your enemy,
because I tell you the truth?" [Galatians 4:16]
"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
[2 Chronicles 7:14]
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