"Hats"

All men wore hats,

Just think of that,

They never thought of change,

That lid in place,

To shade your face,

Like cowboys on the range.

Go back and look,

Pics in old books,

Will show you hats and style,

Guess I’m old school,

My hat’s the rule,

It’s been that way awhile.

Not pridefully,

But change, you see,

Always seems to come,

Not every flow,

Is good you know,

It’s best to avoid some.

Hats went away,

And that’s okay,

Except the cowboy few,

We’ll steam and crease,

And never cease,

No matter what some do.

So way back when,

Hats on the men,

But all knew right from wrong,

We took our cue,

From God’s Word true,

Respect where it belonged.

Seems now we think,

E’en when we sink,

There are no absolutes,

Just do your thing,

The song you sing,

Is fine, though with no roots.

And if you say,

It’s not okay,

There still is wrong and right,

They’ll say you judge,

And harsh, won’t budge,

Trade darkness for the light.

It’s been awhile,

Since hats the style,

And really no big deal,

But truth and right,

They constant slight,

It’s not just how I feel.

The darkness bold,

Has taken hold,

Pretends that it’s not there,

But strong the light,

In His name fight,

In Jesus’ name, show care.

A change of heart,

We’ll do our part,

To pray that we return,

To older days,

And righteous ways,

Don’t let those bridges burn.

“What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark…” (Isaiah 5:20, NLT)

There used to be something called “public morality” in America. There was a general, public consensus on the the things we considered to be right and wrong. That morality was based largely on the Bible and the influence of the church in America. If you followed the public morality, it would take you in the same general direction as the church. But that has all changed. As the culture has become more secularized and culturally diverse, public morality has dwindled, along with the church’s influence. Church scandals, particularly when leaders feel into sexual immorality, have undermined this influence. The extreme manifestation of all this is when people actually call evil, good and call darkness, light. In other words the moral confusion is so pervasive that people celebrate what should cause them regret. Sadly, if anyone disagrees, they are most often labeled as judgmental, narrow-minded, and bigoted. What is the answer? It’s not to soap-box as the moral police, because such efforts are mostly counter-productive. The best answer is to live morally ourselves and share the Good News of Jesus Christ, speaking the truth in love at every turn. When people receive Jesus, their moral compass changes. Outward change in our culture requires an inward change of heart, and nothing is more hopeful than that.

Lord, change our morality by changing our hearts, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Glynnis Miller, glynnismillerart.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Glynnis, and God bless you.