Tips for Life
by Alan Bailey
THE BEST THINGS are the latest things—or so the modern mind thinks. Notice how that wonderful mobile phone that was made three years ago is now despised, almost, because later ones, smarter by several degrees, have hit the market. Whatever the cost, one must keep up with the best.
This way of thinking has very wide implications. Old is bad, backward, primitive. New is improved, advanced; hence, much to be preferred.
Of course, there is evidence for this everywhere. Discoveries are continually being made that take us forward. Old, inferior ways are continually being discarded.
HOLD ON, NOT SO FAST
There is another side to all of this. Has history shown that human behaviour has improved over the years? Has barbarism, cruelty, crime and immorality diminished with our scientific progress? Can we say that people, centuries or thousands of years ago, were less intelligent than we are? Did the 20th century show how humane and civilized the race had become? So far, has the 21st century learned from the one before it?
Perhaps we have been seduced by our technology. We see the marvels of invention and feel superior to all who have gone before us. Even the elderly among us are sidelined as though they have nothing to offer. We are unwise to think that. Today, shameful, evil, unjust occurrences worldwide, warn us that all is far from well.
DON’T FALL FOR THIS ONE
So many sweep aside the Bible with a wave of the hand. Old hat. Totally out-of-date. Irrelevant. The vast majority who say this have never seriously read it. They think they know what it is all about but have little understanding.
I remember asking a couple of scholars to tell me one moral rule that modern people could propose that hasn’t been known in the past. They could not. Every suggestion they made was covered by the New Testament. Sure, some of the Old Testament laws were never meant for any other people than those addressed, the small nation of Israel, and then only for a time.
The best, the latest, the most reliable news is found in the Bible. The words of Jesus are immortal and are ignored at our peril. He said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall never pass away.”
Changes we would all love to see will only come when He is in His rightful place. That is, Lord of our lives. His rule makes all the difference.•