The Evolution of Life as I Know It
Wooden wagons were pulled by horses, mules, or oxen, and boats were propelled by oars or sails. Fish were caught with nets; fresh game was trapped or shot with bows and arrows or slingshots. Houses and other buildings were constructed using rather crude hand tools, and were built of natural materials--mud blocks or clay bricks, thatched roofs, or caves dug into the side of a hill. It was not unusual for mothers and their babies to die in childbirth. Most women were grandmothers by the time they were thirty-five; women who lived into their forties were old. Sanitation was nearly non-existent; indoor plumbing was unheard of for most people. Medical care was basic at best. People all over the world arose with the sun and went to bed soon after the sun set at night. Most people lived and died within a few miles of the places where they were born. That's the way life was, for thousands of years.
Then, in the fifteenth century, Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. It played a key role in the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Age of Enlightenment, and the Scientific Revolution. Education became more widespread. Other inventors began to introduce more and more innovations to the world. Life changed dramatically in the next five hundred years.
By the beginning of the twentieth century, transportation had improved significantly with the use of trains, steam ships, and even a few automobiles. The use of power tools and mechanized equipment had revolutionized industry. Communication flourished with the advent of the telegraph and telephone. Sanitation improved significantly; indoor plumbing accounted for greatly improved health for everyone. Numerous lives were saved, and quality of life was enhanced for many, because of improved medical procedures. Electricity radically changed the way people lived.
Even if progress had stopped there, most of us would be relatively healthy and happy. To my amazement, though, countless things have continued to evolve throughout my lifetime.
When I was a young child, my mother cooked on a combination wood/propane cookstove, and washed clothes outdoors with a wringer washing machine; clothes were hung outside on the line to dry. Now, I cook with a flattop electric range and a microwave oven, and I wash and dry the clothes efficiently in my well-equipped laundry room.
When I was young, most homes had only one tiny, functional, bathroom. Many rural families still used outhouses. Now, many homes have two or three, or more, spa-like bathrooms.
Back then, families who had TVs had to settle for two or three fuzzy channels that stopped broadcasting at midnight. Now, nearly every American household has multiple TVs with hundreds of channels that broadcast around the clock, as well as computers, video games, and cell phones with internet access.
When I was a young child growing up in Nebraska, most families had only one car. Children walked or rode their bikes to school safely, sometimes heading home for lunch and then back to school again. Childhood obesity was rare. Long distance phone calls used to be reserved for emergencies. Not too long ago, most people only dreamed of flying in an airplane. Now, many families have multiple vehicles, few children walk to school, or anywhere, and cell phones have made long distance charges obsolete. We hop on a plane routinely for business trips and spur-of-the-moment vacations.
When I was a child, virtually all moms stayed home to raise their children. Now, nearly all mothers work outside the home. Fifty years ago, most children lived in stable, two-parent households, usually in the same community with one or both sets of grandparents. Now, it is rare for children to live with both parents until they are grown; it is even rarer for them to live near their grandparents and other extended family. Children used to play outside until the sun went down, or they read and played board games when wet weather forced them to stay inside. Now, children spend much of their time indoors, playing electronic games. Even baby toys need batteries.
In the mid-twentieth century, most businesses were closed on Sundays; people had to search carefully to even find an open gas station or restaurant. Most families went to church on Sunday mornings, then spent the rest of the day together. Sunday was truly a day of rest for most people. Now, Sunday has become a day for eating out and shopping, often with no thought of worship; indeed, some Sundays are so full of frenzied activity that there is no time for any rest at all.
The expected conveniences and luxuries in our busy, modern lives seem to have led to the erosion of family life. I am concerned for children who spend most of their time at school and in daycare, whose parents work hard to provide their families with every electronic gadget imaginable, yet are able to spend little time nurturing their children. I am concerned to see family values diminishing. Some children seem to be lacking in good manners and strong work ethics because no one has taken the time to insist on those behaviors. In some households, children are allowed to be in charge because parents feel guilty for spending so little time with them, or because parents who live far away from older relatives have no role models. I don't even like to mention the families where self-centered parents give little thought to the well-being of their children.
When people have everything they think they need, it is easy for them to leave God out of their lives. There is great danger when we become so self-sufficient that we no longer seek God to provide life's essentials. Yet, in spite of our abundant material lives, we must still rely on God to provide everything we need. Without him, there is no life: no air to breathe, no water to drink, no food to eat, no Earth to live on, no families, no future; nothing. Let's thank him for thinking of everything we need, and for providing it even before we ask.
If I had to, I could survive without many of the luxuries I've been blessed with here on Earth in the twenty-first century. But I just can't live without God.
For in him we live and move and have our being. Acts 17:28
Then, in the fifteenth century, Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. It played a key role in the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Age of Enlightenment, and the Scientific Revolution. Education became more widespread. Other inventors began to introduce more and more innovations to the world. Life changed dramatically in the next five hundred years.
By the beginning of the twentieth century, transportation had improved significantly with the use of trains, steam ships, and even a few automobiles. The use of power tools and mechanized equipment had revolutionized industry. Communication flourished with the advent of the telegraph and telephone. Sanitation improved significantly; indoor plumbing accounted for greatly improved health for everyone. Numerous lives were saved, and quality of life was enhanced for many, because of improved medical procedures. Electricity radically changed the way people lived.
Even if progress had stopped there, most of us would be relatively healthy and happy. To my amazement, though, countless things have continued to evolve throughout my lifetime.
When I was a young child, my mother cooked on a combination wood/propane cookstove, and washed clothes outdoors with a wringer washing machine; clothes were hung outside on the line to dry. Now, I cook with a flattop electric range and a microwave oven, and I wash and dry the clothes efficiently in my well-equipped laundry room.
When I was young, most homes had only one tiny, functional, bathroom. Many rural families still used outhouses. Now, many homes have two or three, or more, spa-like bathrooms.
Back then, families who had TVs had to settle for two or three fuzzy channels that stopped broadcasting at midnight. Now, nearly every American household has multiple TVs with hundreds of channels that broadcast around the clock, as well as computers, video games, and cell phones with internet access.
When I was a young child growing up in Nebraska, most families had only one car. Children walked or rode their bikes to school safely, sometimes heading home for lunch and then back to school again. Childhood obesity was rare. Long distance phone calls used to be reserved for emergencies. Not too long ago, most people only dreamed of flying in an airplane. Now, many families have multiple vehicles, few children walk to school, or anywhere, and cell phones have made long distance charges obsolete. We hop on a plane routinely for business trips and spur-of-the-moment vacations.
When I was a child, virtually all moms stayed home to raise their children. Now, nearly all mothers work outside the home. Fifty years ago, most children lived in stable, two-parent households, usually in the same community with one or both sets of grandparents. Now, it is rare for children to live with both parents until they are grown; it is even rarer for them to live near their grandparents and other extended family. Children used to play outside until the sun went down, or they read and played board games when wet weather forced them to stay inside. Now, children spend much of their time indoors, playing electronic games. Even baby toys need batteries.
In the mid-twentieth century, most businesses were closed on Sundays; people had to search carefully to even find an open gas station or restaurant. Most families went to church on Sunday mornings, then spent the rest of the day together. Sunday was truly a day of rest for most people. Now, Sunday has become a day for eating out and shopping, often with no thought of worship; indeed, some Sundays are so full of frenzied activity that there is no time for any rest at all.
The expected conveniences and luxuries in our busy, modern lives seem to have led to the erosion of family life. I am concerned for children who spend most of their time at school and in daycare, whose parents work hard to provide their families with every electronic gadget imaginable, yet are able to spend little time nurturing their children. I am concerned to see family values diminishing. Some children seem to be lacking in good manners and strong work ethics because no one has taken the time to insist on those behaviors. In some households, children are allowed to be in charge because parents feel guilty for spending so little time with them, or because parents who live far away from older relatives have no role models. I don't even like to mention the families where self-centered parents give little thought to the well-being of their children.
When people have everything they think they need, it is easy for them to leave God out of their lives. There is great danger when we become so self-sufficient that we no longer seek God to provide life's essentials. Yet, in spite of our abundant material lives, we must still rely on God to provide everything we need. Without him, there is no life: no air to breathe, no water to drink, no food to eat, no Earth to live on, no families, no future; nothing. Let's thank him for thinking of everything we need, and for providing it even before we ask.
If I had to, I could survive without many of the luxuries I've been blessed with here on Earth in the twenty-first century. But I just can't live without God.
For in him we live and move and have our being. Acts 17:28
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