Good Old Days

Those who are older often speak of the past as "the good old days" and wish things today were more like then. Doubtless many good things have been lost over the years. But not everything was better in the past.

One of the problems the prophet Haggai faced in encouraging the rebuilding of the temple was the discouragement by some who recalled the first temple and made a negative comparison about the one under construction. "The new one is nice but you should have seen the first one," was the essence of their comments. It was discouraging to the builders.

But God said the glory of the new temple would surpass that of the old. Sometimes things that are new are actually better than some things of the past. Age alone is not an infallible measure.