1957 was an eventful year. Now no one really cares about what happened in 1957, unless you happen to have been born in that year. But there is a reason that 1957 was important for us now. Let’s take a look at that year, sixty years ago.

There are similarities to our current moment in time. People were struggling to buy homes and thus live the American Dream. The average home in 1957 cost $12,220. Seems like a pittance to us now, but remember that the average wage was $4,550 a year. They didn’t keep household income numbers then, but they do now. Household income in 1957 was probably the husband’s income. In 1957 most married women didn’t work outside the home.  The average price of a new home in the US now is $371,200. The average household income now is around $57000. So, the cost of a new home then was 4 times the annual income, now it is 7 times more. Quite a bit harder to afford now. Then the average rent was $90 a month. Now it is $1,500 a month. A gallon of gas was .24 then. This morning I paid $2.56. It is harder to get by now, but we manage.

Kids have to have toys. The best toys were electric. Batteries were a must in any home. Electric robots, space craft and cars. Toys with flashing lights and noises. Then there were the slinky dogs and Frisbees and petal cars. Toys today all need batteries, too. But you really don’t ‘play’ with toys today. They play themselves and you push buttons.

Clothing is kind of funny. Women’s clothing has changed dramatically. A woman in 1957 clothing would look totally different from a woman in 2017 clothing. But a man of today could wear 1957 clothing and not get a second look as he walked down the street.

Space was in the news then, as it is today. The difference then being there was only one manmade satellite circling the globe. Today we are exploring Mars. Movies were big then, as they are now. Action and adventure included ‘Gunfight at the OK Corral.” Science fiction had “The Incredible Shrinking Man.” The big ‘chick flick’ of the year was “Funny Face.” Toyota started selling cars in the US in 1957. Today even our domestic models carry foreign made parts all throughout the vehicles. Russia was our enemy then, as the Soviet Union. Today they are still an adversary. Sixty years ago there were wars and rumors of wars. France, England, Israel and Egypt were fighting over the Suez canal. The US was sending advisors into Vietnam to aid the South. The cold war was heating up. Fidel Castro was in the US trying to raise support for his planned revolution in Cuba. The Asian Flu was sweeping the globe and TB was hated and feared. Little has changed as far as war and illness, just the causes and the names and the answers.

Politically, the Democrats and the Republicans were at each other’s throats. The Democrats were seen as the party of the regular people, the Republicans were seen as the party of the elite. The difference between the two parties then and now is that mostly everyone liked the Republican president, Dwight Eisenhower, whereas President Trump is roundly despised. If Mrs. Clinton had won the election, she would be despised. Politics..

Weather wise, Hurricane Audrey slammed into Texas and Louisiana, killing over 500 people. There were eight major Atlantic storms in 1957, ten this year. Summer was slightly cooler in the heartland, as this year. People didn’t try to explain the weather or blame others for the weather. You didn’t wait for the federal government to come and dig you out. You lived with the weather, dealt with its unpredictability and got up and went to work the next day.

Mostly, things are pretty much the same now as they were then, just the names and events have changed.

So why have I picked 1957? Because December 7, 1957 was sixteen years to the day America was attacked at Pearl Harbor. September 11, 2017 (today) is sixteen years to the day that America was attacked in New York, in Washington DC and in a field in Pennsylvania. Sixteen years after Pearl Harbor the country was largely united and moving forward. Sixteen years after 9/11 the country is largely divided and is growing stagnant. The Democrats blame the Republicans and the Republicans blame the Democrats, but both have been in power the same number of years since 9/11.

After Pearl Harbor, American went to war, a war that was fought with a strong will. After 9/11, America went to war, although without as much gusto. WWII drew the country together; our current war is splitting us apart. We have no national identity, no national voice. What is the difference?

On any given Sunday in 1957, 61% of the population was in church. Last year (the numbers are not in for this year) it was 31%. The difference between national attitude from 1957 and 2017 has nothing to do with technology, ideology, politics or anything else that is commonly named. The difference has to do with the state of the church in America. Galatians 5:17-23 says this--- For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

          Does the United States of America follow the fruit of the Spirit, or the works of the flesh? I am not foolish enough to say that 1957 was a paradise. It wasn’t. But well over half the population was being taught decency and goodness at least once a week, regardless of their religious beliefs. Today, less than a third.

          To whose doorstep can we place the blame for this decline? Prayer being taken out of school? Abortions on demand? The rise of the homosexual culture in America? Have we moved away from church because of the amount of activities that exist now? Who is to blame for the moral and ethical decay of our nation?

          Christians in America are to blame. It is September 11. Have you told anyone this month about the saving power of Jesus Christ? In the last six months? In the last year? When was the last time you invited anyone to church? When was the last time you have prayed with someone? We sing about “Sweet Hour of Prayer,” but when was the last time you prayed that long? When was the last time you laid your devotional book aside and just picked up your Bible and read it for a half hour? Donald Trump cannot make America great again. But you can.

          On this day when we remember the thousands who lost their lives because a coward in a far off land ordered it, let’s take back what God has give us to be stewards over. Let’s be Christians.

2 Chronicles 7:14--- If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.