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We have a little "Aldersgate chuckle" now and then when parts of the worship service coincide with what we are about to read in bible class, but a lot of times, it works out well, because there is more time for discussion and/or to cover a different viewpoint on the same topic.

This past Sunday, Pastor David talked about how when he was growing up, there was a standard that people knew if they lived up to, they were "okay."  He spoke of how many people, himself included, still worried that they really were a little short of the ideal standard and thus had "secret places" where they kept those feelings to themselves.  They stuffed them away and hoped nobody noticed that they might be a little less than ideal.

In Aldersgate, we also talked about standards and how drastically they have changed in the last 50 years, and not for the better! The censoring system for movies and television has just about disappeared by now.  The amount of violent and sexual content out there on primetime TV just seems to get worse every year, nevermind every decade.  We didn't even want to go into the reality shows!

Sound moral standards are indeed a source of legitimate concern these days when you look at the world through the media.  Our study of Chronicles during March has shown us that times like these are hardly unique. There are, as we know, many periods in the Bible where the people fell into sin and degradation and turned their backs on God. Some pretty wicked stuff was going on and they didn't even have TV!  Surely those who still sought to observe God's laws were observing the downslide and must have been saying things like, "Soon there won't be any standards left."

By the time of Josiah (640-609 BC), things were so bad that people had forgotten about "the book of the law of the Lord," which is mentioned in 2 Chronicles 17:9.  When the book was found, Josiah's reaction was one of great distress.  He "tore his clothes." God recognized his penitent heart and Josiah made a covenant before the Lord to keep the Lord's commandments.  Josiah made good on his pledge and made his people pledge to obey the laws of God, and that sounds like it should have a pretty happy ending, doesn't it?    But after Josiah's reign, his sons broke the covenant and disaster soon followed.

Again, those who had lived most of their lives during Josiah's reign must have been saying: "Things were a lot better in the old days."  It probably wasn't something anyone wanted to hear then any more than it is now.

As Pastor David also pointed out in his monthly message, a lot of good things have happened in the past 50 years. Progress has truly been made in a great many areas that were "swept under the rug" up until the 1950s.  There were many many people who suffered economic and racial injustices in the 20th century, not to mention slavery in the prior centuries.  There were a great many more women and children who suffered domestic violence and abuse with nowhere to turn in the better part of the 20th century.  Today there are more shelters and advocates willing to help. 

That's great.  But what about the news?  Recent horrifying stories have turned up in the news of pregnant middle school children giving birth on an airplane and in a school lavatory.  "These things never would have happened 50 years ago!"  Unfortunately, these things did happen 50 years ago.  They just weren't reported in the news back then, and the girls they happened to were either kicked out on the streets to fend for themselves or sent to unwed mothers homes.  The solution back in Old Testament times for unwed mothers was stoning.  Jesus' message of forgiveness and rescuing lost sheep has taken a long time to be applied in this area.

So while it may seem that it would indeed be a lot easier and perhaps even ideal if everyone had the same standards, followed the word of God and nothing bad ever happened to anyone, the Bible teaches us that there has never really been such a time.  These lessons show us clearly that without strong guidance and faith, people always are at risk of falling away from God's laws.

It is right to speak out against these things in our society that threaten our moral fiber, but we should do so in a way that is without comparison to 'better times' of the past.  At the same time, we should pray for strength to keep our commitment to God firm in our daily lives, as well as the ability to offer guidance and a seed of faith to those who are in need of a helping hand.