Memorial Day Thoughts

I used to get a kick out of Jay Leno questioning young people about current events, history and names of certain Americans to test their knowledge. I say I used to, because it became very obvious that our young people have been cheated out of a rich knowledge of things I guess I take for granted. Not one group of 100 College Students could find six (6) majors countries in Europe on a map. That same group could not identify at least ten (10) states within the continental United States on a map. I find that sad.

I recently visited a discussion forum where someone had asked if there was a web site that had some of the Old favorite Hymns but with modern wording? I wondered why anyone would rally want that? To which I was told "to make it relevant for young people today". It seems this person thought the that the "Thee’s" ad "Thou’s" were archaic and needed some revision. Well, I did some investigation and found that while most newer English translations of the Bible have eliminated these two words from the older versions (The KJV in particular), and translate both words in the newer English versions as "You". The problem with this is that in the older English, Thee and Thou meant something entirely different. Thee is general and often plural, while Thou is singular and more specific and personal. It seems we are willing to sacrifice accuracy for relevancy and again at a cost to our young people.

One objection was made to my comment where one hymn says "we lift up our Ebenezer". The poster said a better translation would be we lift up our "stone of help" which is what Ebenezer means in Hebrew. But in doing so we miss the significance of not only the word itself but its biblical and geographical significance.
This Hymn line comes from 1 Samuel 7:12-13 (NASB)
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far the Lord has helped us."
13 So the Philistines were subdued and they did not come anymore within the border of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
Today Eben Haezer still exists as a small town and any student of scripture should be aware of its significance.

All this is to lead to my main point. I asked a few youth this week what Memorial Day was and why we celebrate it? One youth answered that it is the day LifeGuards officially come on duty at the beach. Another said it was the official start of summer. Anther said it was an official school holiday. Not one said it was a day we set aside to remember and honor those who have fallen in the line of duty in the protection of this great country. Not one. Have we cheated out young people to the extent that Memorial day is nothing more then a day off from school or the day they can finally and safely go into the water? One has to wonder what is being thought about when we commemorate the Lords Supper on Sunday. Is it to them what scripture tells us, a remembrance of the Lord and His sacrifice for us? A proclamation of the Lords death until He comes? Or is it just a mid service snack? Or a refrain in service in preparation for the sermon time? I think the dumbing down of America has finally come of age.

John