"But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, And saying, We have piped unto you, and YE HAVE NOT DANCED; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented."( Matthew 11:16-17)
The verses above were preceded by, "He that hath ears, let him hear", that always means, this is urgent! Jesus is talking about John the Baptist and how great a prophet he was to the people. He speaks about this generation being like children at a resort. (market=public resort) Some music is played but they don't dance, something tragic happens but they don't respond with any emotion. A complacent, non-responsive generation that sits back and does nothing. A comparison is made between John and Jesus. John is conservative, hardcore but Jesus is more open minded and the children in the market don't like either of the two. We sit back, do nothing or we do just enough church work to make us feel comfortable on our pew when the preacher preaches about being dedicated to the "Good Lord". For those of you around the world that read this, the phrase "The Good Lord" is a casual way of referring to God in the USA. It's rather impersonal and very general. The reason we don't dance or mourn is we've become victims of the spirit of system that has invaded us. We've become non-emotional, complacent and out of balance when it comes to our relationship with Jesus Christ. We justify our sins in the American Church by doing God a favor on Sunday by attending church and participating if it's not to much trouble. What Jesus was saying is that this generation is non-responsive, out of balance and doesn't know the difference between righteousness and unrighteousness. My prayer-God, Play the music, I want to dance, even if I have to dance alone!!! Although I'm very sure that good looking wife of mine will dance with me anytime. Kari M. Boatner, thank you for always dancing with me, I think it's time we dance again!!
I Believe,
Scott L. Boatner