We thought we were going to change the world.

My generation, with our peace signs, peace words and “love your brother” slogans thought we were on to something better than the generations before us.

We would take care of the needy. We would reject the capitalism we saw as being the problem of much of the world’s evils. We would demand truth from every direction. We would practice love and not hate.

How do you re-train thinking that is warped in anger against God to accepting that our generation failed miserably? We keep trying to use band-aids to fix gaping wounds.

We sought a new morality that cast off the shackles our parents were burdened with. No more of that "judging" attitude, being critical of morals different from the way it had been taught for generations—live and let live.

We saw the hypocrisy of some who attended church, so we rejected religion.

We saw what greed led to, so we preached against materialism, and sought hand-outs rather than hands-up to those in need.

We saw the pain and suffering around us, and we blamed God.

How have we done?

In our zeal to seek truth, we have seen it twisted and misrepresented to the point that today no one knows what is true.

Now that our generation is of an age to serve as elected officials, graft and corruption are at an all-time high!

We found that "free love" comes with a heinous price tag. Unwanted pregnancies led to pre-born infanticide. Venereal diseases are rampant, with antibiotic-resistant strains becoming a major point of concern. It recently came out that the number-one reason for women being rejected on the TV program The Bachelor is because they test positive for genital herpes. Many, many more children now grow up with a single parent and separated from a biological parent because of divorce, or a lack of commitment.

It seems we are not so different from all the generations that preceded us.

Just like those before us, we have chosen to ignore the lessons from the past. Instead of a safer, kinder, "in touch" group of people we envisioned ourselves to be, we are, instead, farther away from that ideal than our parents were.

Many are doped up, dropped out, hollow shells of their former selves. Others have embraced the materialistic life with a fervor our parents never had, not caring who gets hurt as they move ahead. And so many others "lead lives of quiet desperation."

We have raised entitled, spoiled children to take our place because we thought our parents were too harsh. We have placed giving our children things above giving them of our time and ourselves. In our pursuit of the good life, we have farmed our children out to others who cannot provide the same real love for them parents naturally can. The cost of living has soared so high, that many no longer even have a choice about being their own child’s caretaker.

We have abandoned the job of teaching our children any values and left it up to government institutions to give them a new set of rights and wrongs that have nothing to do with the ones our Creator gave us.

What happened? We had such lofty ideals!

Our biggest mistake was blaming God for the shortcomings of men.

"Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; by practicing lasciviousness" (Romans 1:21; Romans 1:28).

We have completely lost touch with what brings about lasting happiness. People don’t even want to hear that God has a better way!

We ignored the twinges of guilt associated with breaking God's commandments, and now we have raised a generation where many have no concept of morality. This amoral group will get more angry about neglecting a pet than about lacking love for an unborn human. They point a finger and call it judging if you say God says "Thou shalt not" about anything.

Because we have cheapened the value of human life, made in the image of God, we watch in horror as horrendous crimes are done by some from the latest generation of young people. They apparently see no difference between taking life in or outside the womb. The news people put microphones in the faces of teens who seem emotionally detached from what they have witnessed, and the perpetrators lack any conscience at all. We sit back, wringing our hands in distress, and say how do we fix this, so it does not happen again? But we have opened the Pandora’s Box and we cannot put all the evil back in.

Even many of our churches no longer teach the rules that govern a happy, healthy society.

Jesus said the world will be like it was in the days of Noah. Here's how Genesis describes that time: "Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5).

How do you re-train thinking that is warped in anger against God (the one who has made sure we had the answers to human ills) to accepting that our generation failed miserably? We keep trying to use band-aids to fix gaping wounds.

We have not brought about that Utopia of love that we were so sure we had the roadmap to.

The only answer to all that troubles our nation and our planet today is a return to the laws that govern true happiness. We desperately need the protection of the hedge that keeps us from going over a cliff. We are already in free-fall and in need of an unseen hand to catch us before we exterminate ourselves.

The Bible that our generation mostly ignores or outright rejects speaks of that unseen hand that will rescue us before we become extinct.

"For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened" (Matthew 24:21).

God will not be the author of the tribulation prophesied. We will bring it on ourselves. The One we have rejected will be the one to save us and then to teach a broken, dysfunctional society the way back to happy, productive lives.

That way is available now to any who will come to God with a broken and contrite heart. A heart that is ready to acknowledge how very lost we are, what a mess we have made of things apart from Him and how desperately we need His help.