I just watched an
old Andy Griffith show from 1960 entitled "The
Christmas Story". You remember the one:
A grumpy old local merchant named Ben Weaver done
everything he could to disrupt the Christmas
celebration of a poor family. But, due to their
nature, Andy and Barney made sure that Christmas
was celebrated by not only the poor family, but
also Ben, who wasn't quite the Scrooge he thought
he was. Andy even sung the song "Away In
A Manger", which specifically mentions
the words "Lord Jesus". I thought to myself, only
40 years ago our Lord could be mentioned by name
on national television, and the day we celebrate
His birth could be openly depicted as a time of
sharing and caring for others. How very sad that
is not the case today. About the only time we now
hear the name of Jesus invoked on television
that's not during a church service, is when It's
used in vain, or in the news media due to a
lawsuit to remove It in some form from our
educational system or government buildings and
meetings.
I want Mayberry
back. Not only the show, but the basis of what
the show was...a man that believed in his Lord,
ran his office based on his Lord's Law, attended
his local church to worship his Lord, and raised
his son in a Christian atmosphere and with high
moral standards.
I want to sit on
my front porch and eat homemade ice cream with my
family, take a Sunday afternoon drive, or go
fishing down at the creek. You may say, 'But
you can do all those things now.' Yes, I
can, but on many front porches in America, you
will get shot in a drive-by shooting, never know
who may pick you up if your car breaks down, or
have to endure the nakedness and hear the
profanity at the creek. No, I'm not exaggerating,
there are not many places left for a Christian
family to enjoy God's Creation in America.
The Bible tells us
that as time as we know it comes to an end, so
shall the sharing and caring of mankind for one
another:
"This
know also, that in the last days perilous times
shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own
selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false
accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those
that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded,
lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
" (2 Timothy 3:1-4)
Doesn't sound much
like Mayberry, does it. It does, however, sound
exactly like today's society. I'll admit that
when the northeast experienced its' power
blackout last week, there were a few reports in
the news of folks helping each other. But on the
other hand, there were also reports of mass
looting throughout parts of America and Canada
that were affected by the outage.
Is it too much to
ask that I want Mayberry back? I think it
probably is because society is deteriorating just
as the Bible said it will. It won't be until
Jesus is sitting on His throne in Jerusalem that
America, or the earth, will have the atmosphere
of Mr. Griffith's fictional town:
"The
wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the
leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf
and the young lion and the fatling together; and
a little child shall lead them. And the cow and
the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie
down together: and the lion shall eat straw like
the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the
hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put
his hand on the cockatrice's den. They shall not
hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the
earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD,
as the waters cover the sea." (Isaiah
11:6-9)
So, until then,
thank you Andy for giving us a taste of a
sweeter, simpler time. Come quickly Lord Jesus, I
want Mayberry back again.
Keith
08-18-2003
|