Our Changing World

Have you ever watched a new house under construction? Here is a story of one I watched. By the end of the work, the house (a remodel) went from 4,000 sq ft to 8,000 sq ft. If I had been shown before and after pictures I would have said, "No way is this the same house." Although some of the original house was still there, it was lost in the changes. Watching the renovation was fascinating. The original plans were constantly being changed. It was obvious the owners were dissatisfied with their original dreams...not big enough, appliances or counters in the wrong place, forgot this, forgot that, just one more window, window on wrong side, need another door, a different kind of door, wider staircase, wider halls, bigger closets, another bedroom, a different entrance to the master suite and on and on. And that was just the interior. We watched frustrated contractors walk in and out with the changes rolled up under their arms. We watched roofing and beautiful bricks go up and come down. When would it end? For me, there are some similarities between this house and our changing world. With change often comes questions - when is enough enough? When is there satisfaction? Who says, "that's it, no more?" Even in my short 70 years on planet earth, I have seen enough change in my country to cause me to say, "This is NOT the same country where I was born." One of the big changes is the inability to voice how I feel about the changes. Not accepting the changes means I'm "intolerant". Voicing my displeasure labels me "judgmental." If I say, there are absolute truths and there are absolute wrongs I am labeled as "narrow minded" and "pious". So as I considered all of this, it has led me to a BIG question I think we should all consider privately so we can be honest with ourselves. Here is the question: as you look at the changes and say to yourself, "I am open minded, no problem...these behaviors are ok...live and let live", can you think of ANY change in relationships, morality, etc. that you would say, NO WAY --- THAT is NOT acceptable? Let your mind take you deep into areas that are scary; deep into areas that you may say, society would NEVER allow that! But, I ask you to consider, why not? The changes I've seen in 70 years are shocking! But if you are teen to 40 or 50 age, you may think---hey it's ok---what's the big deal? Perhaps when YOU are in your 70s + you may be shaking your head, saying "how did we get here?" Are you REALLY willing to say, any thing is ok? If you are young you may think "that radical change is a long way off, we will adjust as we go...not my worry." Don't cop out with a flip attitude. Think! As the saying goes, "If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything."