What is Wrong with People These Days?

A good blogger at www.uncommonsqualor.blogspot.com asked this question after pointing out a horrific newstory. To him, I replied:

What is wrong with people these days, you ask. Good question.

If we are really a worse culture, breeding crazy people, I would attribute it to the decline of the role of the church in the average family and community --or in too many families and communities if not the average. Perhaps the average family still goes to church; I don't know.

We are defining deviancy down, also. Our TV shows --the reality shows which feature gays, cross-dressers, trans-genders, young people's promiscuity as normal and shameless, the horrible cattiness and selfishness of shows like Survivor and The Bachelor and other dating shows and even the shallow make-over shows--all cultivate a trend toward shallow values, calloused personalities, hedonists and egotists and perverts and people who say whatever is on their mind, no matter how rude.

The demise of marriage and family cohesion, and probably the lack of a parent at home when the kids are home --all contribute to the rearing of little Hellions. Pornography and internet sexual liasons are hard on marriages and have led to a generation of single (and some married) men being caught on the Sexual Predator show --and they are probably the tip of the iceburg of that problem.

More important than the ever-present Mom in the home is the teaching of guiding principles --which give kids both conscience and love for goodness/righteousness. Children who are taught the Golden Rule, the principle of putting others first, the principles of honesty, fairness, kindness, respect for others, obedience to proper authority, courage to stand against an evil tide and peer pressure, a good work ethic --kids who are raised on these time-tested virtues will surely be better off than otherwise.

but too many are not taking care of their marriages and their kids and rearing them in churches that teach the Bible and provide wholesome activities for kids.

And even when families and parents are the best, the internet prostitutes and floozies are out there luring adolescent boys --and the boys are tempted by what is too easy to find.

So goodness is in ever shrinking supply --as evil is allowed by lax legislatures and lenient judges to flourish. As for the abusive adults, abusing kids --too many of them were abused as kids themselves --but it's not a good excuse. As the Bible says, the sins of the fathers (adults) are passed on to the 3rd and 4th generations --and on and on and on....

I say, we need to run to good churches as fast as we can and insist that all our children are brought up in such a church.

The challenge to the churches is to stay true to the Word and see that it is taught--and to practice what we teach and preach --the pursuit of holiness.

"God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and have eternal life."--the Bible