Last Monday, I was sitting among some Christians in a church. These Christians hold very different views of dating than I do— mainly they succumb to the lie that dating is pretty meaningless, casual, and “just for fun.” I shared my views, the opposite of theirs, and they laughed.
A bunch of Christian teenagers laughed at me for having old-fashioned views of purity. That one stung a bit. This whole situation begs the question, is it really so bad to be a little “old-fashioned?” Spoiler alert: no, it’s not.
These days Christians are laughed at by the secular world for holding such “antiquated” views, like our views on the value of life, the sanctity of marriage, and the like. Our way of thinking is dubbed evil and— pretty much my least favorite word of all time— “bigoted.” These people act like truth is found only in modern times, like those who came before us weren’t as “woke” as we are and their knowledge is useless to us. Here’s what the Bible says about that—
“Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching.” (Proverbs 4:1-2)
There is wisdom in the teaching of those that come before us, and just because a moral belief comes from those before us doesn’t mean that it is useless to us. Truth is truth, no matter the age. Sure, those who came before us were imperfect, but so are we. We act like we are more “woke” to the world’s problems than they were, but we’re still failing at the same things as our forefathers. No people group is ever perfect, and that’s for one reason— they’re all groups of imperfect people. Beings that have done all they can to separate themselves from God through sinning.
For all have fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
Finally, God’s truth is unchanging. While what is morally acceptable to humanity becomes less and less strict as time goes on, what is right and wrong in God’s eyes never changes. In His eyes, sin is always sin.
God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that He should change His mind. (Numbers 23:19)
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)
… the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows. (James 1:17)
If being a Christian means that my values are “old-fashioned” in the modern world’s eyes, then I’m happy to be old-fashioned. In an age where “truth” is claimed to be relative to each individual, it’s important to make sure that your foundation is on the mighty rock of God’s eternal, unchanging truth instead of the shifting sands of relative truth.