THOSE WERE THE DAYS!
Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?”
For it is not wise to ask such questions. Ecclesiastes 7:10 (NIV)
No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the Kingdom of God. Luke 9:62 (NIV)
Who remembers the 1970”s television comedy, when each episode started with the two lead characters singing:
Boy, the way Glenn Miller played
Songs that made the hit parade
Guys like me we had it made
Those were the days!
Didn’t need no welfare state
Ev’rybody pulled his weight
Gee our old LaSalle ran great
Those were the days!
If you guessed the show was All in the Family, with Carroll O’Conner and Jean Stapleton playing Archie and Edith Bunker, you are correct. The show ran on CBS from 1971 to 1979. It was the first comedy to deal with issues like racism, anti-Semitism, the Vietnam War, homosexuality, women’s liberation, abortion and breast cancer. Archie Bunker was always trying to keep things the way they were (or how he thought they were), while the story lines introduced new characters and ideas that he had to confront.
Both of the scriptural passages above urge us not to be like the Bunkers, yearning for the old days, for what is behind us. Such yearning is essentially questioning God’s providence. Biblical commentator John W. Rittenbaugh says that claims of the good old days are the result of bad memory and good imagination. While we must sometimes look back to learn, the future should dominate our minds. Looking back over our shoulder while trying to move forward at the same time can lead to tripping or walking into something.
We are called by God to move forward with life and its problems. We cannot plow the field of faith by looking backward. God is all powerful and His path is consistent. Our best days are always ahead as we move toward the prize of eternal life. God’s promises are sure. He will take care of us.
Prayer: Lord, keep us focused on moving forward in faith. We know You will be beside us. Amen.
Carol Rice
