| Whatsoever
Things Are True
by Dan Coburn Pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church pastordan@mtida.net Something I never hear anymore, which was common in my upbringing, is "Act your age". It was invariably spawned by a situation in the which I didn't or was perceived as not- acting appropriately. . I got that a lot. I don't hear it anymore; unless it's when I do something stupid (a common occurrence) wherein my wife (who is crazy about me) will tell my children that I am "acting my age". So my question is, are the youth of today more mature than they were when we were kids - or have our standards been lowered? Well I'll just say it, Standards have been diminished until they are un-perceptible. We've devolved from WWJD to YOLO, and our selfishness is beyond the pale. We seem to gauge our behavior by what society is doing, and as society degrades, then depravity becomes the "accepted" norm, and --- Bob's you uncle. Congruently, society has matured. Not in a good way, What I mean is that our kids/grandkids face things that weren't even on our radar when we were kids. (I sound like my Dad) For instance, up until Jr-High, if I had a crush on a girl, I would never admit it under penalty of death, but now if you're in the third grade and you don't have a significant other, there's something wrong with you - or so say your peers. Clocks were slower in my childhood. It took a day's worth of playing from breakfast to lunch, and two days until dinner - or so it seemed. I could build a fort in the tall grass, watch a spider build a web, examine clouds, all in about five minutes. Now, our kids are being spoon fed things which are not only not age appropriate, but are not appropriate at all. Let's turn the Spiritual Switch. As Paul commissioned young Timothy, he admonished him not to let others put him down on the basis of his age, his youth. Then he encouraged him to focus on this; Sound Doctrine, or good Biblical teaching. When you think about it, this simplifies life. We spend so much time chasing what so N so might say or do, and rehearsing our response, we miss the simplicity of God's plan for us. The "My yoke is light" promises from Him. Even His Gospel which is the "very power of God unto salvation" (Rom. 1:16) is simple enough for children to grasp, and look how convoluted we make it. Rather than the "what ifs", howza bout we ruminate on the "Whatsoever things are true..." (Phil. 4:8). "Sufficient unto the day are the worries thereof" is the culmination of the Sermon on the mount. Take time to say something good about someone to their face, before they are in a casket. Laugh, Love and be kind one to another. This takes time, so make some. Happy New Year. |
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