“Whatever happened to…”

You’ve probably heard someone say, “Whatever happened to the good ole days?” Well, the days were ‘ole’ but many probably weren’t that good! Times have always been difficult, just in different ways. I suppose I have to concede that while our society has come leaps & bounds ahead in technological & medical advances, and we have every ‘time saving device’ known to man, we have lost a few things along the way. At the risk of sounding like a major ‘old coot’ I thought about a few things & jotted them down.

For instance: whatever happened to candy bars for a quarter, cokes for .75 & gas under a buck? Whatever happened to going to a movie with popcorn & coke for under $10? Whatever happened to having lunch for $5? (Actually I remember when all those things were far less than that but didn’t want to send you over the edge of credibility.)

Whatever happened to riding your bike (a banana seat job with a wheelie bar & high handle bars) all over town as long as you were back by dark? Whatever happened to a time when we knew our neighbors & exchanged pleasantries & acts of kindness? Whatever happened to doing something stupid & finding the news made it back to your mother before you did? Whatever happened to a time when you could actually talk to strangers without fear? Whatever happened to a time when people of wealth and power were business & political figures not T.V. personalities, pop stars & sports stars?

Whatever happened to a time when a handshake sealed a deal? Whatever happened to being shocked by language & sexual content in a movie? Whatever happened to a time you would never hear about illicit sexual activity on the evening news…carried out by trusted figures?

Well, we have to admit that while some things do get better & make life ‘easier’ we live in a troubled society. The walls of decency & right seem to crumble. If we simply trust in society & even in the ‘goodness’ of man we’ll be utterly disillusioned & defeated.

Lest I sound totally jaded & dour, there is a constant ray of hope. Our confidence can’t rest on a political figure or party to completely affect change & make our lives better. There has only been One constant & unchanging force for good all through time. One person has been rock solid from the beginning. Never changed & never wavered. Never had to have a team of ‘handlers’ put a spin on any actions He has taken. The man, Christ Jesus. The bible says,

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

Hebrews 13:8 NLT

The only One you can trust in an every changing, fluctuating world is the actual Creator. He is rock solid.

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Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org cell 870-217-9376