Grandpa, Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Old Days

by Jefferson David Tant

In 1986, Jamie O'Hara wrote a hit song with the above title. It was popularized by Naomi and Wynona Judd. Allow me to be nostalgic as I cite the words with a few comments. (If you don’t know the song, you can Google it.)

“Grandpa, tell me 'bout the good old days,
Sometimes it feels like This world's gone crazy,
Grandpa, take me back to yesterday,
When the line between right and wrong
Didn't seem so hazy
Grandpa, everything is changing fast,
We call it progress, But I just don't know
And Grandpa, let's wander back into the past,
And paint me the picture Of long ago
Did lovers really fall in love to stay,
And stand beside each other come what may?
Was a promise really something people kept,
Not just something they would say and then forget?
Did families really bow their heads to pray?
Did daddies really never go away?
Oh, Grandpa, tell me 'bout the good old days,
Oh, Grandpa, tell me 'bout the good old days.
(Chorus)
Did lovers really fall in love to stay,
And stand beside each other come what may?
Was a promise really something people kept,
Not just something they would say?
Did families really bow their heads to pray?
Did daddies really never go away?
Oh, Grandpa, tell me 'bout the good old days.”

We live in a world that is going downhill rapidly. The unspeakable Connecticut tragedy is really unimaginable. Twenty innocent children, and several adults were slaughtered by a young man who was either deranged or evil personified.

Ever since Adam and Eve listened to Satan’s lies, mankind has been in trouble. Some generations later God said “Enough,” and the Great Flood cleaned the slate. And who knows when God will do it again? Not by water, as per his promise. But it will be as Peter wrote: “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up” (II Peter 3:10).

Many want to ban guns. Guns are not the problem. Logically, we should ban automobiles, for they kill far more than guns. And what about beer, for drunk drivers kill thousands. Kitchen knives also kill. The point is, objects do not kill. Evil hearts kill.

Buff Scott wrote:

Manslaughter has replaced innocent lives.
The ugly has replaced beauty.
The abnormal has replaced normal.
Evil has replaced good.
The immoral has replaced moral.
Lying has replaced truth.
Dishonesty has replaced honesty.
Deceit has replaced sincerity.
War has replaced peace.
Perverted sex has replaced natural sex — man-with-man, woman-with-woman.
Violent fantasies have replaced reality.

1963 was a pivotal year when atheist Madelyn Murray O’Hair got the Supreme Court to ban school prayer. And as God was kicked out of school, he has progressively been banned from more and more aspects of American life. And the America we loved has turned out the lights, one by one, that once illuminated our fair land as a shining beacon of hope, opportunity, and moral values to the world.

And as our government has endorsed the abortion of millions of babies, now supports perverted homosexual unions, and is waging a war against religious values, one wonders when the final light will be snuffed out. America is the only nation I know of that was founded on the principle of religious freedom. It seems strange that the principles that guided our founding fathers, which have stood our nation so well for over two centuries, are now considered offensive. Do today’s nay-sayers want to change our Declaration of Independence to read “one nation under Satan” rather than “one nation under God?” We have descended into the abyss so far that a new Bible is being published — “The Queen James Bible.” This Bible twists the meaning of every passage condemning homosexuality to make perverted sex OK.

Certainly, the entertainment industry has contributed to our downward slide. Violent video games, sexually explicit and perverted movies and TV shows, and foul and vile language, have helped foster many of the younger generations without social graces. God’s admonition goes unheeded, “Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God” (Leviticus 19:32).

Those who uphold moral values and respect for God are becoming a minority in our nation. But it has been this way in many nations throughout history. I fear not so much for myself, as my years are numbered, but I mourn for the nation that my children and grandchildren will inherit.

Paul urges “that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity” (I Timothy 2:1).

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).

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