Do We Yearn For The "Good Old Days"?

Some people go through life always wishing to go back in time. They yearn for the “good old days” when life seemed better. Families were spiritually stronger, Christians were more godly — society as a whole was happier — or so they believe!

The ancient Hebrews were masters at glorifying the ugly past. As slaves in Egypt, they had been desperate to escape that harsh way of life, but after Moses led them out of bondage, they were soon longing for the “good old days.”

Many of them wanted to go back to Egypt, even though it would mean sticking their necks into the yoke of bondage and feeling Pharaoh’s lash (Exodus 14:11-12). It’s little wonder then that God voided their passport into the Promised Land (Numbers 14:20-23,29).

Similarly, some Christians would like to get back to the “good old days” of the church. However, the early church was plagued by sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 5:1), heresy (Gal. 1:6-7), and dissension (Acts 15:1-2).

Beloved, there were no “good old days” for the church — not in the first century, and certainly not in the twenty-first century, for sin is still with us (Romans 3:21-23).

Therefore, let us avoid the trap of looking back into the past — unless it’s to recall a spiritual lesson learned (Luke 17:32; Hebrews 3:7-13; James 5:10-11).

For those of us whose lives are centered in Christ Jesus (Gal. 2:20), let us consider that the best days of our lives are yet to come.

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets