Ecclesiastes 7:10 – The Good Old Days? Oh Please!
Tonight, instead of looking at a major topic in Ecclesiastes, I am going to look at one verse. It’s a verse that speaks to all of us, no matter how old we are. 7:10.
This verse is funny because it so much speaks to who we are, and what we do. We long for the good old days. Usually it’s the days of our youth; some like to go back further.
Some like to wish for the good old days of the church. When 3000 people were saved in a day. When conversions, the Bible tells us, happened continually. When the power and presence of God was so strong. These are the days of Acts.
The problem with that is, do people know what they are asking for? In those days Christians were beaten because they would not shut up. Do we want that? In one case God struck 2 false believers down in judgement. Do we really want people in our churches to die because they lie on an instance?
And part of the power of the early church came through prayer. Often. In different places. Honestly, do people really want to pray like the early church did? Are people willing to give up an evening to come to the church to pray? Not more than 6 or 7 on a regular basis in this church. So you may say you would like the good old days of the early church to return, but unless you show some desire to meet with others in prayer, unless you fast occasionally, you really don’t want those good old days. You want the rewards, but not the costs.
And the early church continued, as well, in different locations. Which early church would you like? How about Corinth? There were ex-gays in that church? Would you, honestly, want ex-gays in this church? I think it would be a neat testimony to God’s saving power, but how many of you would feel the same? Would you let a former gay guy teach a Sunday school class? Likely not.
Or would you want a church where people were so blind to sin that they let a man sleep with his step-mother? Would you like a church where tongues were out of control? Would you want a church that got drun at communion? Would you want a pastor who called you carnal? Probably not. If that were your church, you’d probably find another one.
Well, how about one of the Galatian churches? People walked in no freedom there. They followed the Law. They were getting close to saying that Jesus’ forgiveness is great, but you still need to submit to a list of rules. Is that what you want? Do you want the Galatian church?
How about the Philippian church? That looked good, but there was the issue of growing and splitting factions. There was the issue of women fighting it out. And that’s not a pretty sight. There was a great deal of pride, apparently, growing in that church that led some to feel superior to others. Is that what you want in a NT church?
Well, what about the church in Thessalonica? People were getting saved, yes. But they weren’t good Bible students. They really weren’t eager to grow in the Word. Paul said they weren’t as noble as other churches for it. How would you like Paul to criticize the church you’re in? There were also some lazy people, some busybodies, and some disobedient people in the church. Is that what you want when you long for the good old days of the church?
Then there’s the Ephesian church. Ah, nice place. Nice church. That’s the one I want. Paul won the town over by his door-to-door witnessing. Yes, but they also suffered for their faith. Likely not a selling point for you. They forsook their first love in time. Is that what you want? Do you really want to be told that you need to repent and fall in love with Jesus again? That you’ve basically been doing good things but with the wrong motives? Do you really want to be told you’re wrong? Likely not.
Folks, those were good days in the early stages of the church. But they were far from perfect. Honestly, we really don’t want them back. If we wanted the days of persecution back, we wouldn’t be so worried about same-sex weddings and the Liberals in office. Don’t look at those days as the good old days, because they weren’t all good.
Well, maybe we shouldn’t go back so far, then? What about more recent days, then? The days of the Reformation? Martin Luther, John Calvin and others working to set God’s people free. Sounds exciting, and it was. I’ll stop here long enough to say this, though. Some of them were executed for their faith, for wanting the Bible in the common language. Would you want to die for owning a Bible? More likely, though, you wouldn’t be able to read, so you wouldn’t know whether to follow these Reformers into uncertainly, or continue with the Catholic Church for a more guaranteed salvation. Exciting, yes, those times were, but frightening as well. I wouldn’t call them the good old days.
No, what most people think of with the good old days, in the church, was the turn of the century to the 1950’s. The days of camp meetings and Bill Gaither, big tent revivals and big hair. Ah, some things never change, I guess. I must admit, this era has a certain attraction. The revival preachers like Billy Sunday, DL Moody, Evan Roberts and in time Billy Graham added so much to the kingdom of God. It was a good time.
But do these days qualify as the good old days? Did people not sin? No, of course they did. It wasn’t so open and blatant, but does that matter? Is a hidden sin any better than an open sin? Were there practicing homosexuals? Were adulterers? Yes, yes, there were – there always have been. It was all more hush hush, but to me, that doesn’t make it better. It’s harder to get forgiveness for something you keep secret, anyway. Keeping things secret isn’t always better.
Oh, but the standards were better then. People were respectful when they came to the house of the Lord. Well, firstly, (and this isn’t new), this building is not the house of God – you are. Just because people considered this building to be where God lived, and treated it as such, doesn’t make it true.
Secondly, since when is godliness a matter of how polite someone is? Was Jesus polite when He overturned the tables in the Temple? Was Jesus polite when He called the Pharisees poisonous snakes? Don’t believe the lie that politeness is next to godliness.
Thirdly, if someone wants to embrace one element of the culture and use that as a standard of godliness, why pick that one? Quakers pick the 1700’s. Monks pick the Middle Ages. Some pick the 1950’s hair and dress styles. Since when has the church ever allowed the culture of the world to pick our standards? Yet, that’s what men-in-suits, women-in-dresses as godliness comes from. It’s not modesty, it’s what everybody was doing in the 1950’s. Yes, that’s a good reason to do anything.
You see, the church was so central to government for so long, it’s hard to imagine anything else now. But should it have been? Anytime the church and the government got along too well in history, the message got watered down and hypocrisy ensued. I mean, honestly, should a government embrace one religion and throw out all others? Even if what we believe is right, the devil still runs this world. Can we as Christians really think we should rule this world before our time? Should we expect this right, before the end times rule of Christ? I don’t think so.
I think that a lot of our reactions to homosexuality and the like are driven by fear. We are afraid of losing what we have had for so long, that we have a knee-jerk reaction. Honestly, if we are not a Christian country, which our own people have said for so long, can we honestly expect it to look like one? Does looking better make it better? No, we don’t like what’s happening, and I don’t blame you for it, but we get all nostalgic for the good old days, when things were easier, when Christians ran things more tightly, and we liked it better than way.
But I believe that the days we are in could be good, as well. I mean, the line between Bible believers and Bible scoffers grows more clear everyday. Isn’t that a good thing? Isn’t it good to know who really supports the cause, and who merely plays the part? Isn’t it good to know that soon, true believers and mere fakers will be easily discernible? Back in the so-called good old days, most people looked good. But now, as in the first days of the church, true believers will stand out like a sore thumb. I think that’s a good thing.
In these days, people are also looking for something real. They may be easily entertained by useless things, but reality is a precious commodity. And if we could just get our acts together and live like true, born-again believers, we could show them some truth. People are looking for it, and they’ve been turned off by fakery in the church, a lot of which happened in the good old days. So if we can show them truth, they could be won over.
And let me tell you frankly: I think the church’s stand on divorce back 50 years ago was wrong. I’m not saying that divorce is good and healthy. I’m saying that keeping someone out as members of a church because their husband left them was wrong. I’m saying that if 2 people come to the Lord for forgiveness, even if they’ve both been divorced, it seems to me that all their sins are forgiven, not most of them, and they should be able to join the church. I’m saying that even if God hates divorce, He most certainly can forgive it. I’d like to think that how the church handles divorce now is much better than the good old days, when a person was condemned for forgiven sins, or for something that wasn’t their fault. I’d like to think we understand God’s forgiveness better today than we did back then.
Our scripture passage tells us, “Do not say, ‘Why were the old days better than these?’, for it is not wise to ask such questions.” It is not wise because there are no good old days. Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:16 that he thought the days he lived in were evil. But, on the flip side of that verse, he tells us to make the most of every opportunity. Maybe the thought is that we don’t wish for the good yesterdays, but we live useful todays, to make better tomorrows.
Folks, live to improve the time you’re in. Don’t worry about how things were so much better then, because they weren’t. Do all you can to make the world and the church a better place today, and be all that God wants you to be. Stop griping about things you can’t change, and start changing the things you can. Perhaps you can do your part that in 50 years from now, other people will look back at this time and say these are the good old days.
