I'm sick of cool, hip, and trendy, probably because I've never been any of those things and never will be any of those things.
However, I've noticed that the things I value and find interesting are things that have been around for ages:
-I am more intrigued by the ancient spiritual discipline of fasting than I am of a young preacher with tattoos and Versace glasses.
-I am more interested in my kids being creative and experiencing the outdoors than I am of them having the latest and greatest media device.
-I am more interested in writing hand-written letters, putting a stamp on the envelope, and mailing it than I am in sending Facebook messages, texts, and emails.
-I am more interested in sitting down as a family at night and having a long, possibly hour-long meal where no one is in a hurry and everyone talks.
-I am more interested in sermons preached by John Wesley and George Whitfield in the 1700s than I am of the American Megachurch preacher today.
I think it's safe to say that I am turning into a 95-year-old man, and I'm loving every minute of it.
Why?
I really don't know. Maybe it's because we live in a world of such flash, quickness, instant gratification, invasiveness, and superficiality that my soul is simply tired of it. Maybe there is something within me that longs for something that has withstood the test of time, wisdom that was discovered over several generations, practiced for many more generations, and has been discarded as of late because they were "old-school" and "irrelevant."
I've noticed that my life has been increasingly moving backwards in the last few years. I now mainly use cash, not credit cards, for purchases. My reading is increasingly about men like Charles Spurgeon, Dwight Moody, Bart Stone- great preachers of the 1700s and 1800s who preached the gospel fearlessly and uncompromisingly. Comparing their preaching to what is heard now from American pulpits is sad to say the least.
One of my professional new years' resolutions was to write to at least one person per day- a handwritten letter, stamped and sealed and sent by snail mail.
I increasingly emphasize the goodness of traditional marriage. That's certainly not very cool, hip, or trendy these days, but I can't help but think that the God-centered, Christian marriages that I observe around me are the places of the greatest amount of happiness and goodness I've seen.
I'd rather be out in the backyard playing with my kids practicing sports than just about anything else. The couch, tv, and internet are terrible substitutes for that time with my kids. Like I said, I'm not cool or trendy at all. And I'm getting worse every day. And I'm loving it more every day.
More than anything, I'm finding my wisdom not from the millions of sources that shout for my attention on Twitter but in the Word of God. The longer I live, the more I realize that the Word of God is the greatest thing in the world. Immersing myself in the Word of God has led to the greatest amount of happiness, joy, and goodness than anything else I could invest myself in during my short time on this earth.
Like I said, I'm going backwards. As a GenXer, I'm supposed to be looking on all of that stuff as ancient, outdated, old-school, repressive nonsense. I can just hear some of you saying, "What's next, an Amish community?"
Not yet. My wife doesn't like beards.
However, I encourage you to do the same. Re-discover the wisdom of those who went before you, who lived in a different time and era, where the superficial was not celebrated, where wisdom was valued, and where technology didn't invade our most private and personal areas of life.
Write a hand-written letter. Turn off the tv, computer, iPad, iPhone, and eat a long family dinner with no other purpose than to be together. Go outside and play ball. Go camping. Read a book- not an e-book, but a real book with pages and a cover that requires thought and reflection. Remove yourself from the superficiality of modern life and delve into the depths of the human soul. I think you'll find it very refreshing and very rewarding.
However, I've noticed that the things I value and find interesting are things that have been around for ages:
-I am more intrigued by the ancient spiritual discipline of fasting than I am of a young preacher with tattoos and Versace glasses.
-I am more interested in my kids being creative and experiencing the outdoors than I am of them having the latest and greatest media device.
-I am more interested in writing hand-written letters, putting a stamp on the envelope, and mailing it than I am in sending Facebook messages, texts, and emails.
-I am more interested in sitting down as a family at night and having a long, possibly hour-long meal where no one is in a hurry and everyone talks.
-I am more interested in sermons preached by John Wesley and George Whitfield in the 1700s than I am of the American Megachurch preacher today.
I think it's safe to say that I am turning into a 95-year-old man, and I'm loving every minute of it.
Why?
I really don't know. Maybe it's because we live in a world of such flash, quickness, instant gratification, invasiveness, and superficiality that my soul is simply tired of it. Maybe there is something within me that longs for something that has withstood the test of time, wisdom that was discovered over several generations, practiced for many more generations, and has been discarded as of late because they were "old-school" and "irrelevant."
I've noticed that my life has been increasingly moving backwards in the last few years. I now mainly use cash, not credit cards, for purchases. My reading is increasingly about men like Charles Spurgeon, Dwight Moody, Bart Stone- great preachers of the 1700s and 1800s who preached the gospel fearlessly and uncompromisingly. Comparing their preaching to what is heard now from American pulpits is sad to say the least.
One of my professional new years' resolutions was to write to at least one person per day- a handwritten letter, stamped and sealed and sent by snail mail.
I increasingly emphasize the goodness of traditional marriage. That's certainly not very cool, hip, or trendy these days, but I can't help but think that the God-centered, Christian marriages that I observe around me are the places of the greatest amount of happiness and goodness I've seen.
I'd rather be out in the backyard playing with my kids practicing sports than just about anything else. The couch, tv, and internet are terrible substitutes for that time with my kids. Like I said, I'm not cool or trendy at all. And I'm getting worse every day. And I'm loving it more every day.
More than anything, I'm finding my wisdom not from the millions of sources that shout for my attention on Twitter but in the Word of God. The longer I live, the more I realize that the Word of God is the greatest thing in the world. Immersing myself in the Word of God has led to the greatest amount of happiness, joy, and goodness than anything else I could invest myself in during my short time on this earth.
Like I said, I'm going backwards. As a GenXer, I'm supposed to be looking on all of that stuff as ancient, outdated, old-school, repressive nonsense. I can just hear some of you saying, "What's next, an Amish community?"
Not yet. My wife doesn't like beards.
However, I encourage you to do the same. Re-discover the wisdom of those who went before you, who lived in a different time and era, where the superficial was not celebrated, where wisdom was valued, and where technology didn't invade our most private and personal areas of life.
Write a hand-written letter. Turn off the tv, computer, iPad, iPhone, and eat a long family dinner with no other purpose than to be together. Go outside and play ball. Go camping. Read a book- not an e-book, but a real book with pages and a cover that requires thought and reflection. Remove yourself from the superficiality of modern life and delve into the depths of the human soul. I think you'll find it very refreshing and very rewarding.
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