I THINK WE WERE BETTER OFF THEN

It's funny, but on the way to church this morning, driving along under the August sun, emotionally crawling to the morning service for my weekly shot in the arm, I got to thinking. My childhood and teen years came into focus. Many were the memories that came to me one by one reflecting how things were 50 or so years ago, and although this was no new stirring of honest evaluating of those days, today that evaluation seemed to be more specific. Today, I was not saying, "Oh, things were so much better back then!" Today, my heart was crying out, "Oh, I think we were better off when...." I must put my thoughts down "on paper." They are truly how I feel.

I think we were better off when we used to take a stand against television. My mom refused to have one in the house. She heard bits and pieces about what was showing and was appalled (and just think how mild it was back then!); she based her hard decision upon what was best for her family. Years later, an old friend from our church asked me, "How is your mom? Does she still take such a hard stand against television?" Honestly, my mother probably said five sentences in public, if that many, on the subject, but her stance was known. I didn't have a television until I was 26. Even then I fought it and wish I would have been stronger. Television is not the friend of the Christian. Especially today. Ten years ago, the night Ken and I turned ours off for good, as we were flipping through the channels it became clear that each one, within minutes, showed something absolutely contrary to what is precious in the heart of a warm Christian.

Today, programs like "American Idol" have taken the place of Wednesday night prayer meeting, whether in actuality or by proxy as one sits through the Wednesday night service wondering if the recording device at home is working. I have known people who arranged their whole lives around the airing time of "Friends." I was there once. I planned the daily folding of the laundry of our family of seven around certain programs that would come on late at night...and that was back when the programming was fairly decent. Nevertheless, I know in my heart of hearts that it diluted my walk with Christ.

I really do think we were better off when the television was not one of our pieces of furniture.

I think, too, we were better off when going to the movies was seen as not a good thing. I saw my first movie in a theater when I was 33 years old. I went that long without it; I wish I had stuck to it because in the years that followed, I saw things, even with screening my movie choices, that I wish I would have never seen. We watch emotionally drawing stories about affairs (which perhaps if we called it what God does...adultery...we might press the Off button!) and then wonder why so many end up being unfaithful. Oh, how the enemy worms his way through that little crack!

We watch movies of extreme violence and of passionate revenge, often siding somewhat with the sin...and wonder why we struggle with anger. Dishonesty slips in, sometimes blatant, sometimes cute. Fathers are belittled. Women are used. Clothing is scant even in movies where rows and rows of little kids are sitting in the front. Movies about homosexuals are heralded. One of my Christian friends told me that the homosexual in a certain movie was "the best part of the movie!"

Do you not see where this has taken us, little by little? Ken used the example of the rear view mirror. He said that when you are going downhill, you hardly notice if it is a slow decline, until you look into the rear view mirror. Then you can see that you really have been going down, down, down. Down, down, down we have gone...and we are beguiled into thinking that we are okay.

Then I got to thinking about drinking. I know this will not set well with many. To stand against drinking is legalistic. Is there really anything wrong with it, they answer. I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. But I do know that I think we were better off when we abstained from looking like the world. I see photos of Christian parties now and everyone is walking around with a glass of wine in their hand or a beer. Is that in itself a wrong thing? What I am saying is that when I was young we shunned it because that is what the world did. I have continued to shun it...as my brother and sister...because my mother and father did not want us to drink. I know people who can write an eloquent response to what I am saying and tear my thinking to shreds. Nevertheless, it is what I think and hold to. I think we were better off when we just didn't drink. It's part of a big picture.

And then, as I drove along, my heart felt as though it would burst as I thought of how we were better off, in my mind, when we used to sing songs like, "Just As I Am," and "I Can Hear my Savior Calling," and "Near to the Heart of God," and "Only Believe," and "Wonderful Grace of Jesus" and on and on. So many songs came to mind and I just shook my head knowing that altar calls are somewhat a thing of the past and that songs like "So Send I You" do not resound within our sanctuaries, pressing young people to leave the world behind and throw themselves into service for our Savior and King.

Now an amazing twist to this page! You can't guess what we sang for closing at today's service...during an altar call! Our interim pastor, strong and seasoned, announced that we would sing "I Can Hear my Savior Calling...I'll go with Him, with Him all the way...where He leads me I wll follow...." Something happened in that service this morning. It was the beginning of the beginning, I think. We have been praying for revival. Many responded...sort of unusually so. Oh, the old hymns, argue with me if you must...we were better off when we knew all the words, when we held the hymnbook so everyone could sing parts, and our tears could stain the pages.

There are so many things...I wish young people stood up when an elderly person came in the room, and that we dressed a little nicer for church, and that Christian women would refuse any appearance of immodesty, and that the "Christian" swear words were not accepted, and that people would yearn to be in the gathering of believers and at that, more than once a week. We were better off when we had all-night prayer meetings. And how I miss those old Watchnight Services on New Year's Eve.

I think we were better off without video games...all of them. I think we were better off before the Internet and cell phones, not so much because of what they are but because of what they do to us, grinding quietly away at our hearts. Husbands and wives have private passwords! I can hardly believe it! Tears come and my stomach churns when I think upon such a thing.

My heart has no legalism in it whatsoever. I just wish that we could deduce that these things dilute our walk with God. Some of it we can change completely. I became sorely convicted about the collection of "good" movies we had in our house and Ken and I agreed that if, as we sat and watched them, there was anything contrary to what we knew to be godly or if the name of Jesus was used in vain, we would immediately throw it in the garbage. Truthfully, some of them were a little harder to throw in the waste can than others, but better to "utterly destroy," as the Jews were told to do as they encountered the gods of the nations, than to feel any sorrow at having to let them go.

At least, be in control. We need to discipline ourselves as to amounts of time spent and to measure the quality of that which is allowed.

Why has this weighed upon my mind, I wonder? I'm pretty sure it's because I miss depth and devotion and discipline. I see Christians partying and divorcing and wandering and shallow, not all, but many, and I long for their comraderie as fellow soldiers in the battle.

Here is a wonderful song. It is so deep that there are long periods of silence between each line as I sing it during my devotions. It is an awesome prayer.