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Changed or the Same?

by Norman Tew

 
Changed or the Same? - Life changes, but some things stay the same

 
In two days I received two emails. 

The first contained the newsletter sent out to Seventh-day Adventist retirees in the United Kingdom (it is compiled by a man I taught when he was in primary school in England - which says something about both our ages). It was a piece sent in by an Australian lady who visited England and married and stayed there.  I list that first.

Apparently, a student attending a recent football match took it upon himself to explain to a senior citizen sitting next to him why it was impossible for the older generation to understand his generation.  "You grew up in a different world, actually an almost primitive one," the student said loud enough for many of those nearby to hear.  "The young people of today grew up with television, jet planes, space travel, man walking on the moon.  Our space probes have visited Mars.  We have nuclear energy, ships, and electric and hydrogen cars, cell phones, computers with light-speed processing ... and more."

After a brief silence the senior citizen responded as follows:  "You are right, son.  We didn't have those things when we were young . . . so we invented them.  Now, you young people need to ask yourselves, what are you doing for the next generation?" 

The applause was amazing!

.......................

The next day a short video clip arrived entitled "The Mom Song" *.  To the tune of the William Tell Overture a lady sang the words all mothers say to their children.

It began, "Getup now, get up now, get up out of bed.  Wash your face, brush your teeth, comb your sleepy head." Then later when breakfast has started "Don't shovel, chew slowly, but hurry, the bus is here."   Later, "Were you born in a barn, would you like some hay?  Did you even hear a word I say?"  "Answer the phone! Get off the phone!" 

What struck me about the whole three minutes of non-stop tirade from the mother was how little it has changed from when my mother said things to me.  True when I was a boy there was a post mark that I saved,  "Every home needs a phone" while today it would be a very poor home that did not have a land line phone and several mobiles.  There were references in the song to the computer, an ipod, and the child's faults coming from their father's DNA.

But so much of what was said would have fit into the mouth of my mother all those decades ago.

Modern technology may have changed our environment and our lives, but inside we are still all people.  And people have the same feelings and failings no matter whether they live in a cave, a mud hut, or a concrete sky scraper.  That is why the principles of the Bible, which are about the inner things of life are still applicable today.

* The Mom Song appears to have been produced or originated by http://www.northandchurch.net. Their web site is worth a visit.

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