Pushing the envelope

Had some wonderful alone time with my granddaughter yesterday,  Among other things we discussed the differences in lifestyles from when I was her age (26) and mine now (72).  There are so many things that are different, but one thing that doesn't seem to change is human nature.

One the the things we talked about, is that everyone does it who is her age.  I pointed out that we all tend to think what our social group does is what everyone's doing, but that's not necessarily the case. That's when I told her that teens, especially, push the envelope.  It's human nature for teens to do that. However, her envelope is much, much bigger because her dad's generation and mine had pushed it. So much of what we pushed I now see as destructive to society as a whole. To be honest, I'm sure no generation realizes what pushing the envelope will look like in future generations.

The conversation started when she asked me to watch a Christmas movie with her.  I should have known I wouldn't like it.  It was an R. Right off the bat, the nudity started.  Then came the f bomb and the blatant copulating.  I walked out, not only disappointed at the movie, but disgusted at the number of actors I admire for the majority of their work.  This was the bottom of the barrel as far as movies go, in spite of the big names in it.

During the conversation, I told her about a novel set in the time of Christ.  According to the author, the Apostle John lived in Ephesus, the sex capitol of the world.  I have every reason to believe the author did her due diligence in researching the times in which the story is set.  If so, the behavior described in the first century-20 centuries ago-was even worse in some situations than it is today.  My granddaughter said she would not tolerate that kind of behavior.

There are some things my age sees as intolerable, but we have no choice.  It's a part of today's culture. On reflection, those intolerable things came from enough someones pushing the envelope until it became the norm.  I've told my family when their behavior is inappropriate, I have to accept it. I can't understand it, agree with it, or change it, brokenhearted though I will be. They've given me no option but to accept it.

That leads me to wonder how far are my granddaughter's children and grandchildren going to push the envelope?  What we did in defiance as teenagers was so innocent when we compare it to what's being done today and we never dreamed our world would look like this when we were her age. The behavior described in the novel, I firmly believe, will be commonplace when she is a mother.  I don't think she'll have to wait until she's a grandmother of a 26 year old.

The Bible says we sow the wind, we'll reap the whirlwind. Sadly, we are. On second thought, maybe I don't need to be such a gloomy gus.  If  shocking things done in the first century haven't come around or stayed for 20 centuries, God has intervened through someone or some event. We call that revival.  Lord, please send a revival and let it begin with me.