Moral Decline

Recently I had the pleasure of meeting a donor, an older Jewish lady, in her home. I didn't know boo about her but as we talked for over an hour I learned that she used to be a school teacher in NYC in the late 60's/early 70's.  We began to compare stories about kids, the state of schools today, and the changing culture.

As we unintentionally one-upped each other, we reached a point where she shook her head and asked me, "Why do you think this is happening?" I paused for 2 seconds and answered, "I believe it's the moral decline of our culture..." and went on to share my faith with her. She described herself as a "cardiac- Jew"=Jewish at heart, not in practice, but she listened respectfully as I spoke and didn't refute anything I said.

Sundays, when I was growing up, were for church. Period. You went, you worshipped, you hoped there was some reception afterwards so you could have cookies and juice and maybe those awesome lemon bars, and you dressed for the occasion. Period. For me, it just WAS. If there was someone in my class at school that didn't go to church, they were the weird one. It seemed everyone went somewhere, although at the time I didn't really know the differences among the denominations, just that the Catholic kids got to go to something called CCD where they got snacks and got to change their name at some point.

Church/God/Jesus/etc. helped shape my moral compass. Having parents that were believers and that reiterated what was learned each Sunday was a huge influence also. I certainly was not perfect, but everything that "church" was for me--the songs, the people, summer camp, retreats, youth group--all of it--influenced me above all else. Nowadays, instead of going to church, I think families gather on the edge of the football or soccer field Sunday mornings to watch practice or a game. Or parents are so worn out from working all week and trying to balance the extracurricular demands of their kids that Sundays are a day of rest--period. I've visited probably 30+ churches over the last 8 months and many report that their numbers are declining or at least the number of young families.

The above picture was featured on the cover of Focus on the Family years ago. It's my old college roommate, Jodi, her husband, and their first of 3 (or is it 4?) girls. They currently serve as missionaries in some South American country. There is no question that their children are growing up with a strong moral compass influenced and molded by both church and parents. Granted, mistakes and choices will be made...but at least a foundation has and is still being laid.

When I was a senior in high school, at least 4 girls in my class became pregnant. One stayed home all year and the other 3 attended school. I remember feeling so uncomfortable about this.  Nowadays, many schools have day cares in them. We've made it so easy.  Often when a new girl comes to Covenant House, I hear the other girls ask their name and then, "How many kids do you have?", as if it's the norm to be between 18-21 and have children, whether they are with you or not. The idea of marriage, chastity, organized religion, tithing, etc. are like foreign words to them a lot of the time.

The saddest part of all this to me is that now certain denominations are, in my opinion, clouding over the truth and fading to grey what was once black and white. That's another blog for another day...

I know the moral compass of our culture will continue to shift in the wrong direction as we add more "It's ok"s. There is a line in a Twila Paris song I like that says, "Culture can make it's plan, oh but the line never changes no matter how the deception may fly..." As I and other believers become the minority amidst the changing tide, may we stand strong on the Truth...