Throughout my adult life, I've made an effort to stay young... in the ways that I think and act. Even though I knew that I was not part of its target audience, I watched The Chappelle Show faithfully, and the same can be said for Family Guy, the Colbert Report, and a host of other programs. Knowing that I should be listening to "oldies but goodies," I've tried to keep up with current music. I love Bruno Mars, Maroon 5, and Blake Shelton. Given the choice, I've chosen the progressive side of most of the socio-political issues that have affected my life, and I've tried to make sense of every "cause" that came my way. I've tried to find power in diversity, and I've tried to believe that it doesn't matter what you believe, just as long as you believe something.
I've tried. I am 67 years old, and I've tried. I've tried to stay up with the times and to embrace the ever-increasing rate of change. But It's not working. With each passing day, I am persuaded that the changes I've believed in... are taking- even shoving- us in the wrong direction. Perhaps I am just getting old, but it now seems clear that:
1) Handouts are not empowering, and excuses are not solutions.
2) The word "sin" is not outdated, and
3) there is "right and wrong," which is not based on feelings or passing fads.
4) It does matter what we believe. In fact, it may be the only thing that matters. and what we believe
must include faith and family.
5) Boundaries and permission were both part of Eden, and so were consequences. Doing whatever
we want to do... is not paradise.
6) Words matter. They build up; they tear down; and they should be chosen carefully.
7) Love is more action than words, more sacrifice than pleasure.
8) All that glitters is not gold, and perception is not everything.
9) Chipping away at longstanding values will bring the whole house down.
10 Abortion is not a solution... for poverty or immorality.
11 Children are affected by what they see over and over again. Isn't that the point of parenting and
most advertising?
12 Soldiers- and certanly those who faced an enemy- are heroes, and they should be saluted.
13 The highest calling of any man is to lead his family to a life of faith and worship.
14 Life is neither easy nor fair, and neither of these should be our goal.
15 Happiness is a consequence word- it cannot be chased down or purchased
16 Spending time with their children is the wisest choice for any parent. It cannot be replaced with
occasional chunks of "quality" time.
17 "Working things out" is much better than "walking out" of a marriage, especially when there are
children involved.
18 We're all connected. We're all related to one another. I have 4 grandparents, 8 great grandparents,
128 5 times ggps, 32,768 13X ggps, 1,048,576 18X ggps, .... (do the math)
29 As Camus noted, the world would be changed in an instant... if Christians just acted like
Christians. My granddaughter, Brooke, once asked me if there was any truth in "all of this faith
business," and I let her down terribly. I should've told her that accepting Christ as Lord and Savior
is the greatest truth there is. He is THE source of love and serenity, and our only hope of being
"fully human."
At one time, I would've disagreed with all of these thoughts. I would've argued for the other side because it would've seemed more sophisticated to me. But now, I've given up on trying to keep up with this crazy world. There are a lot of needy people who come to our church for help, and Alzheimer's and cancer are ripping at the lives of our parishioners. Our country is paralyzed by divisiveness and name-calling, and for all I know, we may go to war with Syria tonight. But in glancing at the news sites on my desktop, I see that "twerking" and "selfies" have been added to our dictionary, and Burger King is selling "French Fry Burgers" for a dollar. Also, I see that people are hoping that "strippers" will save Atlantic City. even as our new Casino is expected to save Davenport.
Is it me, or is it them? Tonight, I will teach my scheduled class on Genesis, go home to have dinner with my wife, and watch a new episode of Duck Dynasty as I research my ancestry or my sermon text on my laptop. When Duck Dynasty is over, I will listen to Willie Nelson and thank God that I don't have to raise my children in this world gone mad.
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