The Times They Are A’Changin’

“And He changeth the times and the seasons: He removeth kings, and setteth up kings: He giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: He revealeth the deep and secret things: He knoweth what is in the darkness and the light dwelleth with Him.”  Daniel 2:21-22

I remember back when I was in high school, you know, back in the dark ages, we never worried about someone coming into our school building with a gun to take lives.  We did have a few bomb scares, though, someone’s idea of a bad joke.  The first time that a bomb scare was called in, we had to leave the buildings and go to the football stadium.  One of my classmates thought that the end of the world was taking place.  Of course we didn’t find out until later the reason for our evacuation so naturally we didn’t know what to think at the time.  After a few more of these call-ins, we began to shrug it off, like the folks ignored the little boy who cried wolf so many times that when the wolf actually appeared, no one came to the boy’s rescue.

Discipline was in vogue when I was young.  If a boy was caught at school with his shirttail out of his pants, he was sent to the principal’s office.  If a girl’s skirt was too short, that is, if it came above her knees when she sat down, she had to go to the guidance counsellor to get a towel to wrap over her knees.  Folks laugh at this now, or think how old-fashioned it is to be so strict, but the pendulum of discipline has swung so far to the other side, there basically is no discipline.  Basic standards are frowned upon, and kids are taught to be offended at anything they hear that they don’t like.  They have to be pampered and coddled to their own future detriment.  Generally speaking, the parents of these kids better have a plan for their own care when they get old because I don’t think many of them will be able to depend on their children in their old age.

If a person doesn’t conform to the ideas and actions of others, he or she is call a “racist”.  There is very little honest dialogue any more.  No one want to listen to the ideas of others.  There is a lust for power among those who want to rule over the nation rather than a real desire to actually help those of us down here in the trenches just trying to make lives better for our families and for others.  It is depressing to watch leaders on both sides of the political spectrum act like babies who have their toys taken away from them.

I’m glad that I am as old as I am, because I don’t have that many more years, if any at all, to watch the nation further divide and likely eventually sink into the dustbin of history.  And it will unless some folks wake up and seek the Lord “while He may be found” (Isaiah 55:6a).  I worry about my grandchildren, though, and the kind of world in which they will live.  The trend is now and has been for some time to eliminate God from all facets of society.  The further He is pushed away, the worse things will get.  When mass shootings happen, no one in media or politics can see the abandonment of God has opened the door for Satan to do all sorts of mischief.  If they do understand, they are hesitant to proclaim the truth for fear of being ridiculed or losing votes.

We need many more folks who are not afraid to speak the truth to a nation in dire need of truth.  The words written in the referenced verses were written by the prophet Daniel who was a captive among an ungodly nation, a nation who did not honor the God of Israel.  Because he trusted in the LORD God, he was not afraid of his captors, even King Nebuchadnezzar.  He would not bow to the idolatrous dictates of the Babylonian king nor serve his false gods.  God gave Daniel wisdom and knowledge to stand for righteousness, and God will do the same for any man or woman who will seek His face and do His will.  My prayer is that there will be many Daniels (and Danielles) to step forward and be bold for Christ who is our only hope.