How Things Have Changed

How Things Have Changed

8/4/15

As time progresses it is not hard to understand that times change and that people change along with it.  It has become commonplace for society to rapidly expand its horizons and when this occurs mankind must adapt to the new surroundings or get left behind.  But while some of this change represents positives lately the majority of these changes have been of a negative nature. Our only problem is that we fail to recognize these negatives and proceed with them instead of dropping them with all forces. These human guarantees fall short of completing our lives and until we fall back upon God’s complete and steady foundation, our lives shall continually be turned upside down.

I remember when I was a young boy and there were no computers, cell phones or any of the other types of modern day communication gadgets that ruled our lives.  Everyone that wanted to communicate with each other talked face to face and had personal contact with most of the people that they knew.  Writing letters and putting them into the mail and then waiting for a response was the name of the game back then.  Communication skills were definitely more developed since most people had to deal with each situation personally.

I remember that when business deals were completed the parties involved shook hands as a symbol of unity and completion. They looked each other square in the eyes while performing this act, symbolizing their commitment to overseeing the finalization of the deal.  Honesty and integrity are attributes of this finalization process and each party fulfilled their commitment by ensuring that their end of the deal was completed.  I remember that many deals did not have to have lawyers review the proceedings before the agreements were signed and in many cases no formal or written agreements were actually compiled and presented, for the word of a person, along with a handshake, was good as gold for everyone involved.

As time has passed over the years, I have continued to watch the world’s business corners vie for their efforts, and through these observations it has become clear that the individual trust between humans has waned significantly.  Now businesses rely on lawyers to negotiate and mediate the deals that keep all businesses running.  Very seldom do the presidents of the businesses ever have face to face meetings with other companies while negotiating multi-billion dollar deals.  Even sports personalities have agents, who are usually lawyers, who do all of their contractual details for them.  There is not much personal contact with people any longer and while many believe that this setting is the best possible answer, it cuts so many communication lines that it has become a detriment to our lives, and it also plays right into the hands of our eternal enemy’s plan.

I wish that every country represented in the world could say that they have a perfect tract record when it comes to human relations.  While many transactions between people were noble and honest I cannot say that 100% of them fell into this category.  Other countries have notorious reputations for acquiring their means by horrendous ways and in some cases it even leads to the death of some people involved.

A good example of this is the old communistic style of obtaining confessions in which a person accused of committing a crime against the regime was “guaranteed” that if they confessed to the charges against them that they would be fairly disciplined but not executed.  As it played out, the Soviet government did keep their word on having a public trial, but grossly lied to the “guilty” when their verdict was read and immediately sent them to be executed for their crimes.  I know that this specific example is on the high end of the spectrum when it comes to this topic, but when one deals with humans, all options and discourse must be taken into account.

Humans can feel betrayed by others on any level, it is not limited to just capital crimes against a State.  Everyone who has been placed into this situation knows what I mean and how they feel after the truth is told.  With this type of human behavior allowed to flourish within our society, I can gather that mistrust and distrust of others are the first recognition factors instead of trust alone.  This is a sad state of affairs when this reverse categorical trust is in place and it really does not provide any positive terms for humanity on any level of humans interactions.

Yet we continue to try and complete deals, conduct business or simply try and have relationships with others but what kind of establishment are we constructing when we would rather keep secrets and lie instead of being honest up front?  The dictatorial manipulation of the truth by people has now engaged itself as the norm, with some instances the complete truth permanently being withheld from the other party.  This hurts humanity and it hurts individuals who only wish to make it in this world.  It turns good people into liars and it turns a sound heart into one that conducts evil as its foundation.  Look at the societies of the world and from the lowest beggar to the ultimate government official, this type of action hangs over our heads and hearts.

How solid of a relationship can one have, on any level, if there is no trust that is incorporated from the beginning?  What occurs to the human mindset when their trust has been broken?  What about if their trust has been broken many times?  All of the answers for these questions boil down to one complete answer and that is faulty relationships that are doomed to fail from the beginning.  No honest or good fruitful relationship can be based upon hindrances or lies, those types of relationships can only produce rotten conditions with spoiled results.  But, we stick to our guns and dig in our heels in hopes that while we continue to hide our hearts from others that one day we will find that perfect fit for our lives, family, living, business or government.

In reality, humans shall always let us down when it comes to life expectancies.  IT is a wonderful gift that we have been given that we tend to trust first and then back off if necessary and since this is a gift in our lives that means that our enemy will do his best to shatter this gift so badly that we intentionally hide it and share it with anyone else.  This only brings division among humanity and produces suffering that eventually will erupt from within and be counted among the public as a discrepancy. While we are hurting inside and longing for something positive to occur in our lives, our enemy is sitting back pointing his finger at us and laughing his head off because he has us so fooled concerning the truth that we have no idea which way to turn.

What kind of atmosphere have I just described?  Look at personal relationships today, do you see this type of setting; obvious answer is yes.  Look at our local and state governments and while you are scanning them throw in our federal government too. They are so wound with deceit that they could not find the truth if it was their only option.  Look at your business, do you personally go out to your clients and talk to them face to face or do you wait until they come see you?  Be honest!  Our societies promote this type of stand-offish behavior and its only outcome will not be pretty.  The current government of this country is a prime example of this; it does not matter which side of the aisle you sit, the promise of “hope and change” has failed and it is all due to the fact that the leader of this government fails to recognize that God gave him this position and not through his means.

This type of backwards relationship setting has crossed enough barriers that this society and every other society that is following us should realize that we are in trouble.  It is reasonable to say that with our “smart” technological skills and all of the knowledge that is at our fingertips that we would have come to a better conclusion to our problems.  Yet we continue to believe in a huge lie and voluntarily weaken our position with the truth.  Look at diplomats when deals are reached, the majority of the photo ops are made with the agreeing parties not even looking at each other, but towards a camera.  How can this be a good relationship or deal?  Why not make a deal or have a relationship with someone who will provide the perfect setting for every situation that we encounter, one that will advise you perfectly each time? 

Even when a handshake meant that one could count on the other party to fulfill their task, one could not always rely upon things to be done properly; this was a matter of fact.  With the changes that the world can encounter within a moments notice, it becomes so important for us to have relationships that are on the same level as what we need in return.  These types of relationships can only be established if God is the center of them, on every level.  It is God that we need to turn to first for guidance, truth and reasoning, not human understanding.  God is constant and never ending.  He is steady and forms a solid foundation that is perfectly constructed.  God cannot waiver from His laws nor can He change His decisions based upon whimsical public opinions.  In a world of false change lined with uncertainty, it is God who can provide us with the perfect solutions to all our relationships on every playing field.

It is our choice to include God into our lives and it is our choice to exclude Him as well.  God shall never force Himself upon our lives; it is always up to us to make that decision.  If we place God first in our lives our attitudes and directives shall follow. The reverse is correct as well, if we place anything else above God in our lives the world and its standards shall come shining through and nothing good shall prosper in these conditions.  We must never forget that if we advance God’s Kingdom the kingdom of our enemy is automatically pushed backwards and on the other hand the reverse is true as well.

It is clear that our societies in the West have no desire to live by God’s laws.  It is also evident that we have no intentions of turning our lives back to God either.  This is our choice and if the truth be known, God has authorized us to choose those types of leaders for our societies.  It might be hard to believe that previous statement but it is a true one, for God controls the situation and not mankind.  God had a challenger to that order a long time ago and now he is eternally doomed but has the authority to take as many with him as will listen.  Satan did it in the spiritual realm and he is doing it on the human level as well.

It is God who has all of the answers to our problems and it is God who will provide us with those answers if we just place Him first in our lives.  Studying His Word is one way that we can receive the answers to our questions, not by reading the Bible but studying the Bible and applying its words to our existence.  When a person studies the Bible and applies its content, the answers that we are seeking fall off the pages and land into our laps.  God and His Word are the prime examples of truth and knowledge that the entire world is searching for, and with this information, we continue to push the truth aside.

Humans have made it unmistakably known that we have no intentions of placing God back as number one in our lives; so be it. Let it also be understood that God knows about this choice and He respects this choice of ours, and let it be known that God shall say one day the word “enough” and things as we know it shall change, truly change.  God has given our lands plenty of opportunity to return to His ways and we have continued to spite Him.  After God has spoken this word it will be our responsibility to repent and to begin our restoration period.  Yes, this time in our existence will be a choice as well, see God cannot change no matter what the conditions of our lives are presently in.

The changes in the world have been solely because of the will of humanity and it is through this course that we have chosen to live it ourselves.  History has shared with us that when mankind leaves God out of the equation, mankind’s world falls apart. This pattern cannot change because God cannot change!  Read that last sentence again, this pattern cannot change because God cannot change.  This is the most important phrase in this article.  If we understand this concept we can begin our restoration process because our repentance has already been dealt with.  Restoration is a painful process and it begins with the destruction of our known world, personal world or national it does not matter.  God loves each and every one of us and wishes that we return to His fold and if we do not all we will be is naked and exposed.

DLB