A NEAR neighbour was quite beside herself. She sat with her cup of tea and began to pour out her troubles. It seemed that one of her unmarried daughters was expecting a child. Grandma-to-be was horrified. Where had she gone wrong?

"I've done everything for those children;" she said. "We've given them a good education. We've done everything we could to help them. We've taught them to be honest and hardworking.. We've tried to show them how to be fair and decent. We've given them good clean values and proper standards. Why should this happen?"

We sat and talked for a while. It became apparent that Madge and George had indeed done their best. They had passed on what they thought were good Christian standards. Unfortunately, modern education had challenged these. Modern values had undermined their work. Adolescence had brought changing attitudes in their children. The values of others had rubbed off on them.

"Why shouldn't I?" they had begun to ask. The only answer mum and dad could offer was: "Because we say so." But they were old-fashioned as far as the children were concerned. Why should they be right any more than the moderns? Because dad said so was really no reason at all. Times had changed. Dad didn't understand.

When Madge had gone home we began to think about our own children. Would we make the same mistakes? What was it that they had done wrong?

The Need For Standards
The sad part was that neither Madge nor George had any time for religion. The Bible was not a book they ever bothered with. Consequently their own standards were the only authority they could offer their children. When these were questioned there was nothing else, no backstop.

Modern thinking teaches children to question old values. Modern education often derides old ideas. It scoffs at ways it regards as out-dated. One generation's opinions are just as good as another's.
The Bible is a valuable authority. When the children ask why this way, the answer should be: "Because God says so:" When modern ideas challenge our values we go back to the Bible to see what it says. My ways may be old-fashioned, but God's wisdom is timeless. His values are wise, His standards are right for every generation.

The world has set standards for various things. Once upon a time these were very vague. They depended on the size of a man's hand, or his stride. Today they are very precise. Whether we buy a yard or a metre we know exactly how long it should be. Whether we obtain a pound or a kilogram it should match exactly with our own scales. When we have paid for our goods we are aware of what change there should be.
In every kind of weight and measure, standards have been set. Justice means conforming to those standards.

In behaviour too there are certain standards. The law of a country lays down what is acceptable practice there. However, these laws are concerned with more abstract things. You cannot measure morals in the same way as apples. That is why, in these things, the standards have shifted.

Getting Away With It
For many people the only crime is being found out. They make allowances for themselves. They feel they can justify their own actions. They regard it as perfectly alright to drive at any speed they wish. Only if there is a policeman following do they have regard to the limits.

Stealing time from work is justified on the basis of "He does it, so why shouldn't l?" Petty thieving from employers takes place because "They won't miss it, they've got plenty more." Prices have to be put up to take account of the items which have "fallen off the back of a lorry".

What is true in little things is true in large ones too. The law used to be, "Thou shalt not commit adultery". Today, however, marriage breakdown is common. Many people accept the idea of living together outside of marriage. Those not personally involved feel it is none of their business. If it makes the people concerned happy, then it's alright for them. The standard is only judged by whether or not it might damage the health or happiness of others. The prevailing idea today, therefore, has changed the law. It is "better" to stick to one partner. It may be quite acceptable to commit adultery provided you are careful. This is not God's way.

Even this dramatic lowering of standards is not enough for some. A television programme showed some of the dangers of AIDS. Young people interviewed, however, were not concerned. "You have to die sometime," was their attitude. "You could be run over by a bus:" Their thinking is clear. Whatever the consequences, they would do as they liked. Not only is the law itself disregarded, the results of ignoring it are also despised. Neither law nor punishment will deter them.

The Bible speaks plainly against all immorality. Sex outside marriage is not right. Homosexuality is also condemned.

"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God:"
(1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

Our society has reached a stage then when everyone does what they think is right. The standard is no higher than a man's own conscience. In practice this means that there is really no standard at all. Our world is very sick.

This is a frightening state of affairs. No wonder that more and more people are suffering mental and nervous disorders. Pressure, anxiety and depressive ailments mean more drugs and tranquillisers to help us cope.

Two Kinds of Fear
Fear has two meanings. We need the right kind of fear, Godly fear and reverence for God's laws. Then we should have no cause for fear, the wrong fear, or terror, of what the future holds. If we lived our lives God's way, we would not need to be frightened of men.

Some are not afraid, of course. They point to the fact that the world has always

been a wicked place. Even in Victorian times people wondered whatever the world was coming to. They felt then, as they feel now, that "things can't get much worse" : Things are not really very different.

It is true that human nature is the same in every age. It is true that there were killer diseases then for which cures have since been found. It is not true that things are no different. there have always been wars. But only in the last few decades has man had the capacity to destroy the whole human race. Three A-bombs were used in 1945. One was a test. The other two killed a minimum of 140,000 people then. Many thousands more have died slowly since. That was only the start.

God will not permit the destruction of the whole world, however. He has said through the prophet:
"For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited; 'I am the LORD, and there is no other… '"
(Isaiah 45:18)

God will intervene in the affairs of our world. He will ensure that His purpose cannot be thwarted. Many will doubt this. Peter warns of those who will mock at the idea of God's intervention. They will claim that nothing changes. Everything carries on in the same old way. Peter points to the flood as proof that God has intervened before. He is a God of judgment.
He has said that He will destroy those who destroy the earth. He will not allow things to get out of control. He will fill the earth with His glory.

Poverty and Riches?
Where does that leave you and me? Does it have anything to do with famine at one end of the world and a butter mountain at the other? Will it have any bearing on the violence on our streets? Can it alter harmful political influences that your children might be subject to at school? Will it make any difference to the problems of drugs or inflation?

The answer to that is largely a personal one. Are we the people who think our children should go to Sunday School but have no time for God ourselves? If so, the answer may be "No". It will make no difference. When God fills the earth with His glory, we shall not be there. The people of whom Peter spoke when God intervened before were like that. They had no time for God.

Jesus says:-
"But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be."
(Matthew 24:37-39)

The tragedy of this situation is "they did not know". All kinds of things were going on around them. The Bible describes the days of Noah in these terms:-
"... that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence."
(Genesis 6:5,11)

The world was a terrible place. It had a face we would have recognised, violent and filthy. Some "innocent" people must have been concerned, but they did not turn to God. They were worried and frightened by what they saw, but they did not ask Noah about his faith. They were not with him in the ark. Despite all this they would not turn to God for an answer.

No Time For God?
The words of Jesus show us why. They were just too busy with the ordinary everyday things of life. God had been crowded out. The things they were doing were not especially wicked. Buying and selling is a way of life. Going out for meals, planning your wedding and the future all seems reasonable. What happened elsewhere was not their concern. They were just too wrapped up in their own affairs. They were not hurting anyone, but neither were they pleasing God.

Until it was too late. They had not wanted to know about how God saw their standards or situation. They did not care until God's judgments fell and they were swept away.

Jesus says it will happen again. The flood will not happen again. But its lesson has not been learned. Despite all the warnings, Jesus says men will again take no notice until it is too late. God's judgments will find them unprepared. 