Every now and then we hear folks talk about how things used to be. There was a time when folks didn't lock their doors or worry about leaving the keys in the car. When you listen to things like this it seems that things have really been getting worse. There are times when we are perhaps overwhelmed by this. People seem to be angry all the time. Drugs are everywhere and even the courts and legal systems are siding with those who God would condemn. For some this is evidence that there is no God. For others, it is confirmation that what the scriptures reveal is true.
During the final days that Christ was on the Earth, he warned his disciples of things that were to come. "And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. " (Matt 24.6-8). Some interpret this to indicate that there will be a great series of events that mark the end of time. However, Christ indicates that this is a statement about the time that they were living in. One indication of this is found a few verses prior to the above in which Christ, looking at the Temple and surrounding areas in Jerusalem, states, " There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." (Matt 24.2). This happened in A.D. 70 when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. Another indication that this was referring to that time is in a statement of Christ a few verses after those above. Christ informs his disciples that after they would see all of these other things coming to pass, they would be in peril. "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake." (Matt 24.9). This began before the destruction of Jerusalem and then intensified toward the latter end of the first century. But Christ also made another statement that applies as much to our time as to the first century. As he made these observations and statements, Christ told his disciples, "All these are the beginning of sorrows." (Matt 24.8).
The sorrow of the world began when the world rejected God. Take your pick as to what time period that refers to since it fits in any age. Whether you are talking about the Garden of Eden, the patriarchs, the kingdom of Israel or the Church, that fact is that there have never been any "good old days". The world has always been filled with evil, people have always tended to think of themselves first in most things on a day to day basis, and mankind has always tried to determine how God should be pleased with us while we do as we please for ourselves. While we listen to the list of shootings and other atrocities on the nightly news, we can wonder where the good old days went, but we need to realize that while there have been shifts in the general attitude toward good and evil in the culture around us, there really have never been any good old days. The good days will come when we leave this place and go to a home where there is no more fear, hate or violence and where justice and righteousness rule. That is what we work for and when we find the world overwhelming us we need to remember that things are just the same that they have always been and that is how they will be, and yes, things will get worse. God said they would. Try not to be surprised.
TLC