Understanding the changes in Christian testimony and the character and nature of churches is well explained in this article.
Where do you stand?
Stand ye in the ways
And see
And ask for the old paths,
Where is the good way,
And walk therein,
And ye shall find rest for your souls.
Jeremiah 6:16
Every day you are making decisions. Those decisions affect where you go, how you get there, and if you get there. The wise person will view ahead. They will seek advice. They hope to escape the side trips which delay them and cost more of their energy and effort. Wisdom will seek the paths which are proven by others and according to the guidance of God. Ask for the old paths well trodden by the saints of God with success.
With what is a man to be content?
How easy is it to over desire and to lose perspective on life?
Perhaps Proverbs 27 can give us some perspective.
Pro 27:23 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.
Pro 27:24 For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?
Pro 27:25 The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.
Pro 27:26 The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field.
Pro 27:27 And thou shalt have goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.
This passage would suggest that there is a normal provision that one should work for and make effort to maintain. It suggests that there is a level of sufficiency to which we should be happy. A second item to note, is that man is responsible for the care of his maidens. They are not to be left to their own devices and provision but that there is a responsibility cast. No other world view gives so much compassionate provision and responsibility in behalf of the maidens.
Have you a merry heart or do you dry the bones?
Pro 17:22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
This passage may just be instructional for observation, BUT it also appears to me to be stated to be a choice. What is the effect of your life in the presence of others? Is it a medicine to bless? Is it a broken spirit that drieth the bones of others.
If we are spending time in the Scriptures and enjoying time in prayer before our all sufficient Saviour, there should be little bone dust develop among our acquaintances, friends and brethren.