Please do not misunderstand me. I do not mean to say that it is of the Devil to reminisce about the "good old days," or even under circumstances to act silly. For instance, if one is a grandparent, it is perfectly acceptable to play with one's grandchildren, and any intelligent parent would be grateful for this giddiness (unless, of course, this play is putting one's child in harm's way). However, if one is the age of a grandparent and insisted upon wasting their time playing with plastic figures, this would be looked upon as very awkward and foolish; pointless, really. This is obviously an extreme case, but I believe that extremes are quite often needed to view the intricacies of certain comparisons.
Now, this example aside, I must let you know that I am not writing to criticize the elderly (as I have not seen any prominent evidence of the old pretending to be young), or even self-pitying men in a mid-life crisis (although that is extremely silly), as this is not my place. Indeed, what I have written already may be too much; for we are to respect our elders, despite what fool-hardy society might teach. No, my message, my criticism, is for my generation. Yes, the generation whose battle-cry is "Not for God, nor for community, but for myself!" This is the generation to whom I speak. The lazy, gluttonous generation who expects for life to be given to them without any hard work; who expect a promotion because, although they are below mediocre as an employee, at least they've been working at the same job for years! To those who go into absurd amounts of debt for their out-of-the-blue degree and expect this to be a certificate of a guaranteed job; yes, my cry is to you.
When did it become acceptable to continue in one's childhood? For my peers continuously announce that they are childish, in the things they watch, in the graphics they wear, and in their lifestyle of a need to be entertained. And as you continue in your childish way, why do you expect to be treated like an adult? Why do you try to jump so quickly into a thing so holy as love when you cannot be trusted even with trifles? O how little heartbreak would there be in this world if boys became men before they dove into a relationship! For in the way that they enter, so will they leave. If the deciding factor in a relationship is the physical appeal, why should a man stay when that physical appeal has dwindled, even though it had produced four children? And from whom are those children to derive their lifestyle from? Their father who was never there? Their mother, who has been in and out of relationships since she was sixteen? Is this love? We act as animals, staying with a "lover" for just one season. O how Satan has perverted that which is perfect! And what a brilliant plan it is. Tell me this, one-night-standers, after your practice of loving and leaving has gone through three generations, do you honestly think that our society will continue? You who say "If you love them, sleep with them and love will pull you through," I have something to say to you: "If you base love on the heart, which is called (among many other things) deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, how is this love to pull you through?" You will not stay with them, and if you do, you will be like a dead man walking.
This pitiful excuse of romance and family is not the only thing that my immature generation is affecting. Our immaturity causes us to cease to learn. We will not take responsibility for schooling that we feel we will not use. What avail is History? What use is English? I will not name their intellectual merits here (though there are many), as that is not relevant to the issue, but I will state what may be their most important use. These seemingly meaningless things teach us to be productive, a word which my father always uses around me.
"Be productive," he would say when he left for work. "Be productive." Those words were pounded into my mind, and although they have not affected as much as my father may have wished, they have certainly built me up. In recent years (months, in fact) God has been enforcing the fact that whatever I do, I must do it heartily, as to Him. This is because He is who I am representing. My generation also representing their parents. In their lazy, procrastinating way, they are putting on display their parents, most of whom are also slothful and unfaithful. Why give it your all in something as "meaningless" as school when your parents have shown you that you shouldn't give a rip about fighting for something as sacred as love?
This kind of lifestyle thrived among the children of Israel for a time (Ex. 32:7) until God almost destroyed them all, with the exception of Moses. Yet we treat sex as a light thing. "Where is God's punishment, then?" You may well ask. "If He was so angry about it then, why aren't we being punished?" My answer? Look around you. Our society is slowly degrading. Fathers do not lead their families. Sons are not taught discipline. Mothers do not have enough authority to keep a teenager in check. Daughters are taught to dress like prostitutes to find love. Children are killed and worse. Lawmakers try to destroy holy matrimony. In short, our society has become one of murder, strive, deceit, and evil-mindedness. There was once a place just like that, known as Sodom. So let me ask you;
Where is our punishment?
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