Where Have all the Children Gone?

I was a bank robber that no lawman could catch and many met their end by virtue of my amazing ability to out draw and out shoot anyone. However, that all ended one day when I called out the wrong man. I made the first move but before my gun was out of the holster, I felt the hot lead passing through my body. Dropping to my knees, my life flashed before me as I was falling forward. The blazing fast sheriff returned his gun to his holster and then jumped up and down screaming... "I won, I won!"
We both laughed as I jumped up and said "Yeah, this time...let's go again!"

No blood, no gruesome entrails flying from my body, just a simple "Bang, bang" and I was down.
In fact, sometime the guns weren't guns at all, they may be a stick or piece of wood or something else I could hold in my hand and stick into the top of my pants when I wasn't "shooting".
Virtual reality for us was a well played imagination.
Trucks, tanks, motorcycles, race cars, mountains, trains, horses...anything you could imagine became a reality as long as you needed them.

We never dreamed of sitting in the house all day playing gruesome, vulgar, destructive video games. When cowboys and Indians were over, we grabbed a ball and bat or found a basket to shoot file shots or a field big enough to play football. Or we jumped on our bikes and raced through the neighborhood.
If we did sit inside and watch TV, it was some silly cat chasing a little mouse or a talking bear stealing picnic baskets or a blue horse that had a quick draw.

I wonder how many hours our children spend playing horribly realistic video games winning points by strangling or beheading or blowing off a head or stabbing or torturing the so-called enemy.

Then the so-called realistic TV shows on network television, you know, all the Detective, medical, police, investigative dramas. Many have pushed the envelope as it relates to language and visuals that are too realistic to handle. Then move over to some of basic cable shows and the language deteriorates and God help you if you watch the premium channels like Showtime or HBO.

Who are the highest paid people in our culture? Entertainers, musicians and athletes. I am not trying to degrade them as I enjoy each of those categories. However, we put our priorities in areas that promote self indulged attitudes and aspirations.

Our society has chosen now to turn our backs on biblical principles and God instituted and ordained family models and the sovereignty of human life. We have decided as a people that character means little to nothing and that respect for other people is almost non existent.

Even down to the grade of customer service you can expect now days in Lowe's or Wal-Mart or most fast food chains and on and on. Sorry to offend anyone, but I struggle with dumping my money in these places while being treated like I'm a bother. But it all goes right back to our attitudes and our values in this time period of our existence.

So, when we spend hours watching television reports about horrible incidents that occurred in Connecticut on December 14th or the 22 children that were stabbed in China on the same day, we shake our heads. How can anyone be so sadistic. Really? What exactly can we expect to produce with the kinds of values and convictions we have demonstrated in our entertainment, our self indulged ideals and our lack of respect for one another.

We have cried long enough "God Bless America" (or any other society), we must now begin to bless God. Unless we return to His values and His desires our hope on this earth is swiftly disintegrating.

The peace of God can be ours when we first make Peace WITH God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

God Forgive us of our trespasses!