Go With the Classics

By Thomas Creen, MJ • Phoenix, AZ

The best definition for a ‘classic’ in any field is “something that has stood the test of time.” Having been a teenager in the 1980s, it is interesting for me to find out what songs or movies from the ‘80s have stood the test of time. For example, a significant number of the teenagers I teach in Phoenix have surprised me by knowing the words to a 1981 Journey song called “Don’t Stop Believin’” and by naming “The Breakfast Club” from 1985 as their favorite movie.

For my part, though born in 1969, I play Chuck Berry’s 1958 “Johnny B. Goode” on the guitar, like to sing to myself the Tony Bennet/Dean Martin hit “Just in Time” from 1957, and still enjoy watching clips of “The Three Stooges” from the 1930s.

There are true classics that have remained popular for over 300 years. And there are universally acclaimed classics that have endured for 2,000 years or more, transcending time and permeating dissimilar cultures.

It seems to me that out of the tidal wave of mediocrity that is produced every year throughout the world, there are always a few gems that wash up on the shore and become classics. And the rest just gets sucked back out to sea.

The same process takes place with ideas. We humans are constantly producing ideas in every waking moment. And out of the stream of ideas generated, how many thoughts are gems and how many are not? Just as importantly, out of all the ideas that others share with us, whether personally or through books or other media, how many are truly good for helping us attain the goal of human life which is to know, love, and serve God in this world so as to be happy forever with Him in eternity?

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