A timely truth and reminder

Tim Collver is a scientist and a churchmate of mine. A few years ago, he posted this material in our Viber group chat that made me pause and think. I asked permission to have this posted, and this is his reply:

“Francis, I’m excited that you consider my comments worthy of your column.”

You see and sense a high level of honesty and humility from this gentleman.

And then Tim says:

“Please allow credit where that’s due RE: I paraphrased my presentation from several authors who are individually unique and beyond my capacity; If anything, I’m just the conduit – not the source.”

Here is the material he shared:

A youngster asked his grandfather,

“Grandpa! How did you people live before with:

No technology

No aeroplanes

No internet

No computers

No dramas

No TVs

No aircons

No cars

No mobile phones?”

Granddad replied:

“Just like how your generation live today with:

No prayers

No compassion

No honor

No respect

No character

No shame

No modesty”

We, the people born between 1940-1970 are the blessed ones. Our life is living proof.

While playing and riding bicycles, we never wore helmets.

After school, we played until dusk; we never watched TV.

We played with real friends, not internet friends.

If we ever felt thirsty, we drank tap water, not bottled water.

We never got ill sharing the same glass of juice with our friends.

We never gained weight eating plates of rice every day.

Nothing happened to our feet despite roaming barefoot.

We never used any supplements to keep ourselves healthy.

We used to create our toys and play with them.

Our parents were not rich. They gave love, not worldly materials.

We never had cellphones, DVDs, PlayStation, Xbox, video games, personal computers, internet, or chat, but we had real friends.

We visited our friends’ home uninvited and enjoyed food with them.

Relatives lived close by, so family time was enjoyed.

We may have been in black-and-white photos, but you can find colorful memories in those photos.

We are a unique and the most understanding generation because: We are the last generation who listened to their parents – and also the first who have had to listen to their children.

We are a LIMITED edition! Enjoy us! Learn from us! Treasure us!

And then Tim closed with a call to action:

“To my Brothers... Share if you enjoyed our era :-)

And bring the Kids back to Sunday Service!”

And so I tried to look for the sources and the original authorship of the materials Tim used in his message, but unfortunately, I could not find them. Proper credit attribution should be given – if perhaps you can help me locate the original authorship for the materials. But this stuff is so good this has to be shared.

Expect a lot more changes to come to our lives. Technology drives change. But when the changes we dub as “progress” come at the expense of old-fashioned family values, friendship, relationship, morality and ethics, then I guess the word “progress” would hardly be a justifiable term for humanity to embrace.

Meanwhile, love God and love your neighbor.

Follow the parting advice of the wisest person who ever walked on earth. Solomon says: “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13 NASB)

I am sure I have given the right credit attribution this time.

And yes, one more thing – bring your kids to church.

Catch Francis Kong on his YouTube and podcast channel Kongversations with Francis. And don’t miss his “Inspiring Excellence” podcast now streaming on Spotify, Apple, Google and all major podcast platforms.