“Cs” of Change in One Lifetime

article by site founder, Connie Rice

Recently, I wasn’t able to fall back to sleep after waking up and as I was praying, my mind wandered. I began to think about changes that had occurred in my own lifetime. To my surprise, I realized that they were characterized by a large number of factors that started with a C. I wrote the factors down in no particular order:

• Comfort – most people striving to live within their comfort zone & avoiding anything that might interfere or cause conflict with others.
• Convenience – saw the entry of fast food restaurants (have fond memories of A&W root beer served in frosty cold glass mugs, delivered to the car window with food order), ultra-processed prepared food, & many technological advances (entry of personal computers from some that filled whole rooms – in first full-time job, kept track of inventory of high-line pieces for a jewelry company with punch cards, saw the beginning of the Internet, mobile and then cell phones, microwave ovens, etc.).
• College – from only certain professions requiring a college degree to all young people being pushed to attend college. Businesses followed by requiring degrees for jobs that never required them before, creating increasingly huge debt for graduating students and removing good jobs from those who were capable of doing the job, but thrown out of consideration. Because of this and the decline of American manufacturing, we went from having an economy with massive job opportunities for young people to create a successful life for themselves and their families to one that no longer offered near as many opportunities.
• Cheaply made goods – saw American made quality goods replaced over time with cheaply made goods from Communist China (yet more Cs), a country that did not have the best interests of Americans in mind. Brand named products used to communicate quality, but became no better than other brands – with all being of low quality.
• Computers – saw the beginning of personal computers to now when most people can’t function without one, where a cell phone has way more power than a computer that used to take up a huge room.
• Chemicals – saw huge increase of chemicals being used in food, medicine, clothing, furniture, mattresses, cleansers, cosmetics, etc. – have also seen a huge rise in chronic illnesses and obesity.
• Climate mania – remember scary predictions of another ice age, then as the climate shifted, to fear of global warming, then as the climate shifted again, to climate change – although none of their predictions ever came to be, policies were implemented that have proved to be destructive to society, businesses, countries, states, and individuals.
• Conceit – we were brought up to always consider others, but the increased focus on self, self-esteem, and pride has created a level of narcissism and self-centeredness not seen before in my lifetime.
• Cell phones – saw the beginning of car phones for a few to now when most people can’t function without one.
• Complacency – for most of my life, there was a level of trust in leaders and institutions that unfortunately has proven to be ill founded – we were frogs in a pot, oblivious to the corruption and fraud that was being increasingly perpetuated. People generally minded their own business, were not personally involved in politics but trusted that the election process was honest, and tried to be a law-abiding, taxpaying, hard-working good citizens and neighbors. Bad laws were being passed without public discussion and most people had no idea.
• Cancer – as a kid, I never heard of cancer – now it is commonplace, touching most everyone I know in some way. I’ve personally lost my dad, an aunt, many friends, and even several children I knew and cared about to cancer.
• Chronic illness – used to be rare, but is also now commonplace – so many people suffer from “mysterious” symptoms (including both of my own daughters with Myalgic Encephalopathy or M.E. – one as a teen from undiagnosed bacterial infections and one as an adult, the result of chronic Lyme). In children, the incidence of ADD/ADHD, autism, allergies, asthma, & other illnesses has skyrocketed (neither my husband nor I have been allergic to anything, but both of daughters are). Other debilitating chronic illnesses have also skyrocketed, (Alzheimer’s, etc.).
• Corruption – for most of my life, institutions were trusted and revered – now we see that fraud and corruption is in all of them, even to the highest levels of government, education, medicine, media, etc.
• Crudeness/coarseness of language – from most people being respectful of God by not using His name in vain and of others with their language – choosing to use G rated communication in public and especially around women and children to where now not seeming to have any boundaries among the general population or in the culture or media (movies, TV shows, etc.). The word “inappropriate” seems to have been eliminated from the cultural dialog.
• Cancel culture – from most everyone believing that free speech was for everyone, whether we agreed or not, to personal attacks against those who simply disagree, negatively affecting their reputations, careers, families, and even putting their lives in danger.
• Cognitive decline – from unusual and in the very old to common and in younger ages.
• Conflict – from focusing on finding common ground to treating those who disagree as an enemy or evil; also in relationships – instead of being determined to resolve conflicts, becoming quick to give up on relationships (causing untold harm to children and society at large).
• Confusion – has always existed to some degree, but now seems to be perpetuated intentionally, and especially toward young children – even to the point of whether they are male or female instead of helping them be more comfortable with the biological reality of who they are (causing further mental and emotional damage as well as permanent physical damage).
• Civil discourse – in my younger days, there was a decline in racist ideas toward acceptance of all people so that most people tried to be respectful of others, regardless of their ethnicity – even if they totally disagreed with them.
• Community loss – divorced & single parents were unusual, as were parents who deserted their family; in my lifetime, more families began living farther apart geographically, many with no family nearby at all.
• Common decency/common courtesy/common sense loss – saw societal boundaries gradually discarded, fewer people choosing to be courteous or polite, and more people making or falling for illogical arguments/ideologies.
• Crime – has always existed and has had ebbs and flows, but people generally respected the property rights of others and valued human life; now crime is much more rampant and more barbaric with terrorism and those from more violent cultures entering America.
• Children – from people wanting to get married and start a family, seeing children as a blessing, with a culture striving to protect them to one that targets them in numerous ways for harm; from infertility being rare to now being a familiar issue for many people; from babies being in the “safety of the womb” to being intentionally and violently “terminated”, California and other states defending the killing children once they are born if the mother had intent to abort them, etc. Unborn babies are the most innocent and vulnerable among us, and deserve to be protected; from the culture of protecting children from the seediness of life so they can just be kids who feel safe and secure to those who openly sexualize and confuse them, exposing them to things that destroy their innocence and make them vulnerable to abuse and danger.

There are probably more Cs than the ones listed here, but this has already been quite a convicting (even that starts with a C) exercise for me. I would like to apologize to the generations after my own. All of this happened on our watch and we were mostly oblivious, trusting those in authority, that they had the best interests of people in mind. As our nation has drifted away from God and His Word (the Bible), the values that we grew up with are being eroded. If it continues, it will be a great loss to humanity at large. Christianity transformed the world with so many positive influences, creating Western Civilization. The things most of us appreciate in America were possible because of biblical principles and God’s common grace. As long as we were following His principles, our nation experienced incredible blessings. However, God cannot bless nations who openly rebel against His teachings and who call evil good and good evil or who harm children or who defend the intentional killing of those who are helpless, whether by abortion, euthanasia, drugs, chemicals, etc.

“These six things the Lord hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to [h]Him:
A proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren.”

Proverbs 6:16-19

We did not realize that the freedoms and opportunities we enjoyed were at risk and took them for granted. May God forgive us for being so oblivious and naive, and for not doing more to protect the most vulnerable among us. May we love our fellow man enough to tell him or her the truth. God is not mocked. He has given us all we need to know in the Bible and has provided sufficient warning of the judgment to come as well as the consequences of our choices. Jesus’ sacrifice of death on the cross paid the penalty for the sins of all mankind. However, each person must choose to turn from their sins (repent), recognize that Jesus is God’s Son, and trust in Him alone for salvation, surrendering their life to Him.

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, [g]when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.”

1 Peter 3:18-22

The prince of this world tempts, deceives, lies, condemns, and seeks to destroy us. God loves us and wants that none should perish. We can avoid the eternal torment that comes from hardening our hearts against Him. Allen Parr has a 26-min video on hell that is worth watching. Being willfully ignorant does not end well. It is up to us to humbly seek God with our whole heart, mind, strength, and soul. If you’re not sure, ask Him to reveal Himself to you. He waits with open arms for anyone who genuinely seeks Him and chooses to turn from their sinful ways, but we must fully surrender our lives and will to Him. He gave the Israelites a choice – blessings or curses/life or death. He’s given all of us a choice – we can look forward to rest in heaven with Him or experience eternal regret and torment in hell. Hopefully, we won’t be like the man in one of the Indiana Jones movies who “chose poorly” (the goblet) – let’s choose life. God is the author of life and Jesus conquered death. With His righteousness covering us, we can conquer death too and look forward to His coming back, rather than awaiting His righteous judgment.

“For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.”

2 Corinthians 5:14-15

“But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.”

Acts 3:18-21

© Constance Rice 2026