Those Were The Days…

This is officially my first post from my new office, so this post comes to you from the upper room.

One of if not the post popular show in television was All in the Family.  The show was about Archie Bunker and his family.  Check out the themes song:

When watching this video, a single phrase kept jumping out at me.  At this point, you may have guessed from the title of this post that the phrase is, “those were the days”.  In this theme song Archie and his wife Edith were dreaming of better days, a time when life was better. I think all of us have been guilty of dreaming about the past and wishing life couldgo back to a simpler time when living was much less complicated.

It is such a funny little phrase that we often hear variations of in the church.  In my ministry experience, I have often had folks fondly remember the good old days when attendance was better, Sunday Schools were filled, or when families came to church together.  As Archie and Edith longed for the past, many of the folks sitting in our pews look backwards and see that things are no longer as they used to be.  The world around them has changed…our culture is different.

However, change does not have to be a bad thing.  Change is inherent in our faith.  If we are living out our faith, then we are changing… transforming… becoming more like Jesus. This is true both for the individual and the corporate church. Change can be a good thing because it means that there are opportunities for God to do new things. If you find yourself struggling and afraid of change, then consider what God says to the Israelites who were undergoing some significant changes themselves:

^10-12 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw them— Egyptians! Coming at them!They were totally afraid. They cried out in terror to God. They told Moses, “Weren’t the cemeteries large enough in Egypt so that you had to take us out here in the wilderness to die? What have you done to us, taking us out of Egypt? Back in Egypt didn’t we tell you this would happen? Didn’t we tell you, ‘Leave us alone here in Egypt—we’re better off as slaves in Egypt than as corpses in the wilderness.’”

¹³ Moses spoke to the people: “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and watch God do his work of salvation for you today. Take a good look at the Egyptians today for you’re never going to see them again.

¹⁴ God will fight the battle for you.
And you? You keep your mouths shut!” (The Message)

God did not leave the Israelites alone flounder in the desert in the midst of this new thing He was doing.  He was present with them in the midst of it. To often we miss the new thing God has for us because we would prefer the misery we know rather than the blessings we don’t.

The empty can…

There are few things more disappointing to me than when I go to take a drink from a pop can and as I raise it to my mouth and try to take a drink…I find that it is bone dry…empty.   It is so deflating when this happens.  Reaching for a cold drink of Pepsi and finding that you have already taken the last sip is disheartening.  Its a day destroyer for me.

In all seriousness, I know that is pretty silly to allow something like this to ruin your day.  But, how often do we allow little moments like this to dictate how go about our daily business.  I was thinking about this at lunch time when I was getting ready to leave and head back to work.  I was saying good bye to my son and he spilled his drink.  I was annoyed that I had to stop and take a minute to clean it up.  that annoyance went with me back to the office.  In all honesty, I let the 30 seconds it took to clean up the spill dictate how I felt about the next hour of my day.

I guess I just really want to challenge my self and others to think about  those little things we make into big things that change our attitude for the day.  Lets not cried over spilled milk or sweat the small stuff.  Instead, let us all rejoice in the many God given blessings that we have…perhaps I should be thankful I had a can of pop to begin with.