I was privileged to meet some of my neighbor’s friends the
other day. The reason I wanted to write about these people is that they were
not people we get to meet and talk with very often. At least I don’t. Their
lifestyle dictates being quiet, reclusive and respectful of others. You see,
these people were from Illinois and they are Amish. I think, for a lot of us,
we feel that the sort of lifestyle these people choose to live would be boring
and mundane, and we ask “why?” But what I found out was, “why” and just the
opposite.
I often write about the changes that have come to our world
over the years. I write about how distant we have become from each other in a
fast-paced world full of drugs, alcohol, loosening morals and disrespect for
each other. Of kids married to video games and x-boxes, living in a make-believe
world of fast action and violence; movies and television—filled with sex and
violence and life in the fast lane. Big changes that are so hard for those of
us who didn’t grow up with them to accept, and sometimes we wonder what
happened to us and where it’s all going to end.
The Amish try as hard as we do to not let their young people
follow the maddening crowd, but I think they are far more serious about it, and
better at fighting it, than we are. They have two big reasons for this on their
side. First of all, respect for their elders and others is not a recommendation
to their children as they grow up, it is an essential rule. For those who don’t
comply, there are consequences. I was told from an early age in my life that
“rules without consequences are just advice.” I guess this just proves my
parents’ point on that. Secondly, they have a deep and abiding faith in their
God and they are serious about their children having that faith, too.
I talked to my daughter last night, after meeting the Amish,
and told her of my experience. She lives in the country, with her family,
outside of a small Wisconsin town. She said, “Dad, I envy them. I wish I could
turn back the clock and be more like them. I would love for my children to be
raised like that. I can teach my kids right from wrong, and I do. But they’re
in school now, and peer pressure is becoming a problem. Bad things have always
existed, and I know that, but there used to be definitive lines between good
and bad and it’s just not true anymore. Society is fast erasing those lines and
lumping them all together.”
As my daughter alluded to, it’s hard to turn back the clocks
of time. I guess, in one sense, the Amish just never went there in the first
place because they sensed what would happen. We’re like addicts that have
gotten used to a freer lifestyle, and now we’re hooked and there is little
chance of turning back. Think of selling your F150 and buying a horse. Some
call what we have done to society “progress” and in most cases I have to agree,
but with progress comes unintended side effects. Greed and selfishness are not
progress, though, and they take us to a lot of places we shouldn’t be. We find
this out too often—too late—too much. In the “Prayer of Serenity” we ask God
for the wisdom to know the difference. I think we already have that wisdom.
We’re just not using it as well as the Amish do.
No comments:
Post a Comment