The Modern Generation

September article by Jonathan Thompson

Recently, the British Prime Minister Tony Blair, indicated that he thought many of today’s problems - within the context of social indifferences and standards of behaviour - were rooted in the so called “free love” era he grew up in, in the 1960’s! The 60’s are to blame; the ethos of that age has helped to mould the generation following negatively, and by inference the parents of children born through the 1950’s and 1960’s have largely neglected the good morals that previous generations have upheld in their parenting.

It is evident though that there is certainly a complete lack of respect in perhaps now the majority of younger people, for the other members of the population. Where older members of society are more tolerant and respectful, having been conditioned and brought up properly by their respective parents, the youth of the age sees mutual respect as some sort of inherent weakness. The media have spawned phrases such as “yob culture” and “road rage”, both a product of today’s society where respect for others is not “cool” or to be tolerated. Rather we see and read of increasing incidents of what amounts to crime, whether this is classified as petty or not.

Whatever the real reason for the degeneration in moral and behavioural standards is, one thing is certain and that is that God knew this would happen and through his prophets, including his Son the Lord Jesus Christ, he indicated that this would be a sign of the return of Jesus Christ to be a judge and a King.

“But as the days of Noah were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away, so shall the coming of the Son of man be.” Matt 24:37-39

This means that the wicked generation that God wanted to wipe out for the violence with which they filled the earth, were living life normally and to the full. They ignored and even ridiculed the message Noah prophesied, that only salvation through God’s plan and the ark would preserve life on the earth. Perhaps the inference is that they did live to the full, that there was no self control and “that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Gen 5:5) The deluge came to them as a complete shock and they all died in the waters.

It is poignant that it was the Son of God who made reference to Noah and the times in which he lived. There are many so called Christians today who reject the Old Testament and will only accept and read the New Testament. Christ did prove to us that the OT is valid and true, otherwise he would not have directly quoted from so many passages, including the Psalms.

The antidote to the ruthlessness of this age is clear to see in Paul’s letter to the Galatians Ch 5 and verses 19 to 23 (New International Version) “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft: hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Against such things there is no law.

Such simple eloquence; the first paragraph again is a description of the facets of life and human standards in the 21^st century.

Jesus Christ has given us all a warning of how men will be in the last days before he returns and we also read in the second paragraph from the letter to the Galatians of how we ought to be to be like him and to be associated with him and to contemplate eternal life with him in his Father’s Kingdom. Let’s show God and his Son the respect they deserve and comply with his code for life.