Six Successive Steps to Spiritual Awakening
Dr. J. Gerald Harris
Psalm 51
A Christmas catalog came to our home the other day. And I guess I am still somewhat like a kid. And I turned to the toy section of the Christmas catalog. And I was impressed with the sophisticated toys that were listed in the catalog. There were computers and all kinds of video games and electronic devices -- in the toy section.
When I was growing up, toys were plain and simple. A boy would take a piece of cloth and wrap it in twine and make a ball. And he would use the broken handle of a broom, or the broken handle of a garden hoe, for a bat and have a baseball game with his buddies. A girl would take an old sock that was no longer useful, stuff it with cotton, paint a face on it, and she had a rag doll for her younger sister to play with.
Now such simplicity is left far behind. We live in a day of startling electronic and technological marvels: artificial daylight instead of candles, supersonic transportation instead of horse and buggy, instant communication worldwide instead of some antiquated communication system. And perhaps we have concluded that we must be better because we know so much more.
But one little thing has been overlooked in our preoccupation with the cyber space world in which we live, and it is this. While we have progressed scientifically and technologically, we have not progressed spiritually and morally. In fact, I read an article this week in our Baptist state paper that indicated that while religion is increasing in America, our moral decline is accelerating.
Some preachers have fallen into immorality. Others have compromised the Word of God. Churches no longer hold up the standard of faithfulness and purity and responsibility to their membership. Husbands and fathers are not the spiritual leaders in the home. Women are no longer keepers of the home. Parents cave in to the whims and the inclinations of their children. Our teenagers seem to care mor ...
Dr. J. Gerald Harris
Psalm 51
A Christmas catalog came to our home the other day. And I guess I am still somewhat like a kid. And I turned to the toy section of the Christmas catalog. And I was impressed with the sophisticated toys that were listed in the catalog. There were computers and all kinds of video games and electronic devices -- in the toy section.
When I was growing up, toys were plain and simple. A boy would take a piece of cloth and wrap it in twine and make a ball. And he would use the broken handle of a broom, or the broken handle of a garden hoe, for a bat and have a baseball game with his buddies. A girl would take an old sock that was no longer useful, stuff it with cotton, paint a face on it, and she had a rag doll for her younger sister to play with.
Now such simplicity is left far behind. We live in a day of startling electronic and technological marvels: artificial daylight instead of candles, supersonic transportation instead of horse and buggy, instant communication worldwide instead of some antiquated communication system. And perhaps we have concluded that we must be better because we know so much more.
But one little thing has been overlooked in our preoccupation with the cyber space world in which we live, and it is this. While we have progressed scientifically and technologically, we have not progressed spiritually and morally. In fact, I read an article this week in our Baptist state paper that indicated that while religion is increasing in America, our moral decline is accelerating.
Some preachers have fallen into immorality. Others have compromised the Word of God. Churches no longer hold up the standard of faithfulness and purity and responsibility to their membership. Husbands and fathers are not the spiritual leaders in the home. Women are no longer keepers of the home. Parents cave in to the whims and the inclinations of their children. Our teenagers seem to care mor ...
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