More and more I find myself reminiscing the “good old days.” How life was better. Simpler. Does that make me a curmudgeon? “Hey, you rotten kids, get off my lawn.” Maybe it does.
In the good old days, people sat in waiting rooms looking at outdated magazines or (believe it or not) actually talked to one another. Now we just look at our phones as if we were wearing a sign reading, “Don’t bother me.” Can’t we have polite conversations with our fellow humans anymore?
In the good old days, people gossiped. One chattery phone call at a time. Now, on social media we see all the dirty laundry and gossip– every wretched morsel. Must we post every minutia true or false?
In the good old days, leaders could fall. Of course, they could. People are human. But when leaders fell, unless it was a larger than life figure (Can you say, “Jimmy Swaggart”?), we didn’t hear about it. Maybe it happened at the same rate in the good old days, but we didn’t hear about it. Now, every time a church or Christian failure makes the headlines, I get a little more discouraged. Does anyone live a holy life anymore?
In the good old days, we trusted that people had mostly good intentions. Now everyone from politicians to preachers to police officers to school board officials to well, everyone… is looked upon suspiciously. We don’t trust others anymore.
In the good old days, church folks could vote different from me, and I still thought of them as brothers and sisters in Christ. Now, if I don’t vote like my fellow church members I am either a fascist, a socialist or just plain dumb or some combination of the three; and I certainly can’t be a Christian (unless I’m just plain dumb. Jesus loves dumb people too). Can’t we disagree charitably anymore?
In the good old days, people got mad and angry. They still do. It just seems that folks get angrier faster theses days. People are more vulgar too. Common decency isn’t so common. Can’t we learn to turn down the temperature instead of throwing gasoline on every single thing?
In the good old days, evangelical was a Christian term. It meant Christians believed they were to share the good news of Jesus Christ to our non-Christian neighbors. Now evangelical is a political term and it brings with it all kinds of baggage much of which does not look like Jesus at all. Whatever happen to the “What would Jesus do bracelets? Maybe we need to get them out of our junk drawers and start wearing them again (and actually doing what Jesus would do).
The good old days weren’t always good. I don’t want to overlook the many sins of the past. People needed Jesus then. People still do. It just seems that we need Jesus now more than ever.
My Two Cent Offering 
As one of the “old guys” who hangs out with young adults who are “on their phones all the time” … I should point out that most of the time, those young adults are, in fact socializing with people. They’re just socializing with people online instead of the people in the same room.
I think that young people get unfairly criticized for being anti-social when, in fact, their social interactions just look different than ours did. (I can remember when busybodies of old would yell at parents for “reading the newspaper and not talking to your family when you come home from work”!)
I’m not sure that I was thinking of young adults when I wrote this. I’m just as guilty as anyone at looking at my phone in a waiting room. Human verbal interaction is missing. Yes, people are still communicating but the nuances of body language, tone and level of empathy and compassion is missing all too often. This is not a young adult vs. curmudgeon issue. This is all of us who use a smart phone.
I don’t think we’ll ever understand “young adults” since they have grown up with so much technology and use it as part of their every day life (they really have no choice it’s what they know!!!). I have sworn off social media myself and go on FB a few times a year maybe and I am quite happy doing this. My wife and daughter, however, cannot survive without their social media stuff. In fact, my daughter has made a very successful career out of being a huge part of social media. I understand the issue and that is communicating in person to other human beings when you are in close proximity to them. I think the young adults who have been raised by conscientious (and hopefully Christian) parents understand the need for social interaction sans phone when available! But it only takes a few bad apples in any situation to make things look worse than they are. I mean, look at our world! Appreciate your insights Rob! Hope all is well! Go Blue!!!
Hi Pastor Rob – Let me preface this by thanking you for creating a dialogue to address some of the more sensitive issues facing the church in today’s society. Not just this post, but in many others as well. I really enjoy reading them. It’s reassuring that there are pastors highlighting the importance of discussing these things and acknowledging the challenges that these issues create within the church.
As an MVNU graduate who has since left the church, I think one thing that causes a bigger issue than people inside the church realize is the rise of Christian Nationalism. (Here comes the political rant part, so my apologies in advance) Many inside the church believe that politicians bringing up God and linking that to patriotic purposes is a good thing, however in my opinion, it does more harm than good, especially in such a divisive political climate that we live in. Don’t get me wrong, any politician has the right and should feel comfortable publicly professing their faith no matter their party, race, gender, etc., but when that religious affiliation gets co-mingled with party affiliation, things can get messy. It becomes too easy to alienate half the population. I always try to look at things through the lens of those on the other side. For example, try watching our President’s remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast the other day through the lens of a Democrat, non-believer. The candid reality is that to non-believers, our President is the face of Christianity in this country. Calling someone a moron at a prayer breakfast and questioning why Democrats would even be present at such an event is not helpful and I think the church needs to stand up and speak out more against this rhetoric.
I totally agree with you Pastor Rob, I’d love to go back to the good old days. I really hope the church can be the tipping point to bring us back to civility. How amazing for the Kingdom that would be! Once again, thank you for helping cultivate a healthy dialogue.
-Jeff