Do not say, ‘Why were the old days better than these? For it is not wise to ask such questions.” Ecclesiastes 7:10
Dear Redeemer Family:
The “Good Old Days” weren’t. And nothing has changed. Here’s an interesting lesson from some guy named Martin Luther which I found in a book I have, Faith Alone, a Daily Devotional, all by Luther, edited by James C. Galvin. The quote is extended.
“Then people are ungrateful to us, we often start complaining, ‘Things are worse now than they ever were.’ But we shouldn’t talk like this. Elderly people tend to say, ‘When I was a child, everything was better.’ They are the ‘people who praise the days gone by,’ as one poet calls them. But the author of Ecclesiastes says this isn’t true. Things never really went well. We only realize how bad things are now because as we grow older, the number of things that annoy us also increases.
Children don’t pay much attention to news about someone deceiving or murdering someone else. They keep on playing, running, and riding. They think it’ s the worst thing in the world when someone steals another’s marbles. Only then do they become angry. But when they become adults, they become sensitive to the troubles and disloyalty of people around them. They get angry when a horse breaks a leg, when the cattle don’t fatten properly, and so on.
The world has always been filled with troubles, but we haven’t always been aware of them all. When we were children, nothing bothered us. Our lives remained relatively calm. But the world has always been wicked. Therefore, make sure that you have a quiet and peaceful heart. Don’t become upset when you see these evils. Though you can’t change the world, make sure you are changed into a new person.”
It seems that nothing has really changed in at least the last 500 years. But this is still good advice to live by. Let’s hope for the “Good New Day!”
In Christ, Pastor Rose