Thursday; May 7

The other day I was digging through some of the Old Testament and found something stopped me in my tracks.  Nestled in the wisdom of Solomon was this gem, “Do not say, ‘Why is it that the former days were better than these?’  For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.” (Ecclesiastes 7:10).  I have to be honest with you, I was a little surprised to find out that nostalgia has been around for such a long time.  Ours is not the first generation to look back and remember how good things were – or at least how good we remember them to have been.  We have been fooling ourselves with faulty memories for centuries!  Now, please don’t misunderstand me, I am not saying that all advances advocated by modern society are positive, but I do think it is good to be reminded that the next generation is not necessarily the one that is leading us to sure and certain devastation!  It has been said by every generation that has come before us and, yet, we still continue to make progress.  No, not everything is bringing us closer to absolute morality, but when we consider race-relations, health and safety, education and so many other things we are better off today than we have been in the past.  If you don’t believe me, just take a mental trip back to the 1860s and tell me that you’d like to go back to that point in history. Consider that the infant mortality rate in the United States in the early 1900s was around 100 deaths per 1000 live births compared to its current rate of less than 6 per 1000 live births.  

While I believe we need to keep trying to get better as a society, let’s not buy into a belief that everything is terrible today.  Sure we can pick and choose issues, but when we do, we are apt to talk ourselves into paralyzing discouragement.  Let’s do our best to be better, but let’s also be honest about the successes we have achieved.

Think About It!