I am disgusted when I hear these words coming out of my mouth. I promised myself I would never think them, never believe them, and most importantly, never say them. Now I find myself not only thinking, believing, and saying them but also living my life based on them.
Things Have Changed?
In my youth, someone would start a sentence with these words, and I would shut down. It didn’t matter if what followed was true, profound, brilliant, or life-changing, I never listened long enough to find out. Now I find myself saying these exact words. What follows them may be identical to those who spoke them before, I really don’t know as I didn’t listen, but what I do know is…
Things were so much better when I was young.
I am not sure if it is perspective or reality that causes me to see times past as “different”, but things have changed, and I am not sure if it is for the better. I am trying my best not to attack the changes that come with each new generation.
“Back in my Day”
When I was growing up, we were told, “That rock and roll music comes from the devil.” The guitar, especially when electrified, causes Satan to enter the minds of those who listen, leading to drug addiction. The drums invited evil spirits to possess all who took in their evil cult-based rhythms, and those who played them were the spawn of Satan himself (I now have 2 sons that play drums, and one of those also plays and makes guitars, electrified guitars).
The generation before started almost every sentence, or so it seemed, with, “When I was young…” That was my signal to tune out. My signal to tune back in was, “Things were so much better when I was young.”
Waging War With Change
The declaration of war always seemed to start with, “When I was young,” and end with, “Things were so much better; the church was godlier.” My generation fought the worship wars in hopes that others would not have to. To borrow a phrase from history, it was the war to end all wars.
As far as worship goes, I believe that we have gone from an all-out war to an uneasy truce. From time to time, someone mentions how much better the music was when they were growing up, I think I have even said that about a song or two, but for the most part, we have come to see this as personal likes and dislikes rather than a battle between God and the powers of darkness.
When I Was Young
I am unsure if it’s just my personal perspective or if reality itself causes me to see times past as different. But I guess things have changed, and I am unsure if it is for the better. I believe this is a battle between God and the powers of darkness. This isn’t about the type of music you worship with or Sunday morning service styles. This isn’t my attempt to elevate one generation over another, but when I was young…
God was beyond our comprehension, Jesus was all we needed, and the Holy Spirit was powerful.
When I was young, I didn’t know that Pentecostals, Episcopalians, Catholics, Baptists, and all other denominations worshiped different gods.
When I was young, I didn’t know that the Holy Spirit was finished working in some churches, limited in others, while still moving mightily in others.
When I was young, I didn’t know that some believed in Jesus, others were selected to believe in Jesus, and others were just chosen regardless of their belief in Jesus.
When I was young, I didn’t know that prayer was powerful in one church belief system while it was only helpful in another.
Things were so much better when I was young, and I would suggest, godlier. Maybe it was the innocence of my youth, but I am telling you there was something different, something better.
When I Was A Child in The Faith
I believed the Holy Spirit moved in a way I could not live without. I chose to put my faith in Jesus, who called me to follow Him. I prayed, believing that God would answer in His perfection, not limited or controlled by my request but rather overjoyed by my trust and obedience.
Then I grew up, and my childlike faith became less of a faith and more of a belief system that limited God to the doctrines of man that best served the limits of my comfort zone. I miss the good old days. Things were so much better and Godlier when I was young.
At that time, the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1) And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said,
“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:1-4 (ESV)
By: J David Peever
Sources
- originally posted on live4him.ca
