Where's The Rewind Button?

“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” 

~Romans 12:9-10

There is no respect left in this world. When I was a kid, we were taught to respect ourselves, others, especially our elders, and those who were less fortunate than us. We didn’t talk back to our parents, at least not without getting our mouths slapped, we behaved in school, and we didn’t make fun of people who were different either in dress, culture, or because of disabilities. I raised my kids to be respectful of others and to keep their thoughts to themselves. No matter if they liked what someone wore, said or did, they were taught that just because you disagree with someone, doesn’t mean you have to call them names or make them feel stupid. Not so in today’s world.

I feel like I’ve stepped through the looking glass into a parody of the world I grew up in, even the world my kids grew up in. The world my grandchildren are growing up in is so foreign to me that I’m not sure how to navigate it. And I certainly don’t like it. We are all in this thing called life together. We have the same basic needs, wants and desires. We have the same hopes, dreams, and fears. Yet, to me, it seems as if everything is just a little off kilter, like its all tipped sideways and I don’t know how to set it upright, or if it’s even possible to be set upright.

Jesus Christ taught us to love one another, to respect each other, and to show that love and respect openly by honoring one another in all that we say and do. He taught us to care for the poor, weak, and less fortunate, and to be generous to those in need. He taught that a kind word goes a lot farther than a harsh one, and that love covers a multitude of sin (1 Peter 4:8).

Philippians 2:4

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Ephesians 4:32

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

John 13:34-35

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

1 John 3:17-18

But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

Proverbs 21:13 

Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.

1 Timothy 5:8

But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Galatians 6:9-10

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Matthew 25:40

And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Proverbs 28:27

Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.

I want to hit the rewind button and go back to a simpler time when the world made sense but when I look backwards, I see how the world was headed toward the way it is today all along. There is no going back, all we can do is govern ourselves, our mouths, our actions, and look to the Lord for guidance and comfort and pray for the day He returns to set it all right again.

Read Ezra 1-4