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Do You Yearn for “the Good Old Days”?The Watchtower—1977 | November 15
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manufactured goods are in certain respects superior to yesterday’s products, yet that alone does not bring them contentment. They personally may sense that some fundamental need is not being satisfied to the extent that it was in former times. Furthermore, some thinking persons may wonder whether this basic lack of satisfaction may be contributing to the general moral breakdown that we see abounding despite man’s material progress.—2 Tim. 3:1-5.
Let us, then, examine why it is that a different spirit or atmosphere seems to exist today, and what we can do about it.
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Grasping the Spirit of “the Good Old Days”The Watchtower—1977 | November 15
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Grasping the Spirit of “the Good Old Days”
AMERICAN basketball player Julius Erving was interviewed after having signed a 3.5-million-dollar contract to play ball. It is reported that when Erving was asked: “Is there anything you want that you still can’t buy?” he answered: “There might be emotional or spiritual things that no one can buy, but nothing material.”
By his comment, this millionaire basketball player may have touched on a basic reason why so many people today speak longingly of “the good old days.” Whereas in many parts of the earth persons are experiencing unprecedented material or technological progress, many are still not content. The fact is that the satisfying of our emotional and spiritual needs is not related, necessarily, to the material goods that we have. Nor can we buy emotional and spiritual satisfaction. In fact, the efforts that many persons put forth to get more money for advanced technical things today often interfere with satisfying their basic spiritual and emotional needs.
Jesus himself called attention to the fact that humans are not just materialists. Once when Jesus was hungry and the Devil urged him to misuse his miraculous power by turning stones into bread, Jesus replied: “It is written, ‘Man must live, not on bread alone, but on every utterance coming forth through Jehovah’s mouth.’” (Matt. 4:1-4) Jesus thus called attention to the fact that we are not mere animals with physical needs so that the more abundantly these are supplied the happier we automatically must be. Rather, humans
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