Let's Forget the Past!

 Can anyone remember the song?

Be careful, little eyes, what you see.

Be careful, little eyes, what you see.

For the Farther up above, is looking down in love. 

So be careful, little eyes, what you see.

Be careful, little ears, what you hear

Be careful, little ears what you hear.

For the father up above is looking down in love,

So be careful little ears what you hear.

It goes on with hands and feet. 

We should have continued to teach these old Sunday School songs. Be we had to be popular and follow the crowd. We had to make it "current."  Well, current isn't what we thought, is it? The time had come for change.

I remember those little songs we sang in the 60s. And yes, they influenced me because I haven't forgotten them. 

Only a boy named David, only a little sling.

Only a boy named David, how he could pray and sing.

Only a boy named David, only a rippling brook.

Only a boy named David, but 5 little stones he took.

And one little stone went in the sling, and the sling went round and round.

One little prayer went up to God, and the giant came tumbling down.

Those songs taught me more than how to carry a tune. They taught me how to think about my actions and how my actions impacted my world. They taught me faith, hope, and charity. And consequences. 

If a brother is in the road, we will stop and pick him up. 

If a brother is in the road, we will stop and pick him up. 

If a brother is in the road we will stop and pick him up. 

And we won't lag along behind. 

If the devil's in the road, we will roll right over him.

If the devil's in the road, we will roll right over him.

If the devil's in the road, we will roll right over him.

And we won't lag along behind.

Judges 2:10

10 When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel.

Why? How is that possible? 

Because that generation who raised them went to sleep. They didn't influence their children with the past. When you stop reminding people of the past, of where they came from, and the values that were crucial, well, they lose direction. They think they know where they're going, but they tossed the road map. The map their fathers and grandfathers carved out. The past is old-fashioned, out of date, not in touch with reality. 

I'll tell you who's not in touch with reality, the people who raised a generation that knew nothing about their past. The reality lives in the present and those who raised this generation are going to have to stand before God and give an account of why they thought it was a good idea to forget the past.

You may think burying the past is so liberating. You'd be wrong. That's how nations become enslaved. That's how an entire generation arose in Israel who didn't even know the Red Sea parted. They didn't know about a pillar of fire at night. Their heritage was unknown to them. Hundreds of years of miracles forgotten. 

Now our children only remember how to log in to apps to be entertained. These days I see children in church playing with phones and tables. I see adults doing it, too. Believe it or not, you can tell if they're looking at a Bible on their phone or sending text messages and scrolling through a website. You're not fooling anyone. And your children? As soon as they got out of Sunday School, they forgot all about the lesson when you handed them the phone. 

What is wrong with us? No wonder we have lost a generation. In fact, we've lost two generations. The children and the parents. Forget the songs your grandparents sang. They're not fashionable. They mention b-l-o-o-d and d-e-a-t-h. Words like sacrifice, the cross, and conviction fill the pages of the song books. They teach values and remind us of thousands of years of miracles. Our history. Our faith. 

But they're just children's songs! 

No, they're the greatest stories ever told. I won't forget.