During the past few decades, life in the Western world has undergone an enormous cultural transformation. Family structure, the towns we inhabit, societal norms, and even how we eat have radically changed. For many with conservative values, this change has not been positive. We are emotionally stressed, longing for the “good ol’ days” when life was simpler, more wholesome, less plastic, and happier. We want idyllic towns, kids playing outside, and French fries fried in beef tallow. In short, we feel and want “nostalgia.”
The word “nostalgia” has an interesting etymology. It is a combination of two Greek words: nostos, meaning “return” or “homecoming,” and algos, meaning “pain.” The pain of longing for returning home, or more simply, “homesickness.”
On social media (incidentally, one of these radical transformations), people often relay their feelings of nostalgia through memes and pictures. Mountain landscapes, cities with well-dressed and well-ordered citizens, and county fairs with nuclear families having fun are a few examples. They are broadcasting their desire for a world that once was and many believe will never return. Reactions to these are varied. Some say, “Get over it. The world has changed. Move on.” Others say the world of nostalgia isn’t even real – it is an idealized fiction. Still others say this nostalgia is something to be ashamed of as humanity has rejected its transgressive past and has “progressed” toward a future with more egalitarian principles and freedoms.
The bottom line is that for many, “nostalgia” is a dirty word that promotes backwardness and spiritual lethargy. I would argue for the opposite – that not only is nostalgia a positive virtue, but it is also, in a certain sense, a Biblical command.
Whatever is Excellent
The Philippian church was a treasure to the apostle Paul. It had grown much in God’s grace and had many mature believers. It also supported him and had few issues compared to other congregations, like the Corinthian Church, for example. He wrote his epistle to them from house arrest in Rome, thanking God “my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all” (Philippians 1:3-4). One could say he had “nostalgia” for his time with them.
But even though Paul was writing to them under negative circumstances, he exhorted the church with the following words later in the letter:
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything is worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8, NASB)
Paul was encouraging the Philippian congregation to remember those things which are excellent and worthy of praise and admonishing them to think on them (logizomai) – meaning meditate on them.
These things, which are honorable and excellent, are indeed spiritual virtues that have eternal ramifications. However, it goes beyond that. Paul uses the all-encompassing words “whatever” and “anything” – which would include the temporal world as well. It can include nuclear families, safe neighborhoods, God-ordered gender roles, church bells, enjoying nature, and wholesome leisure activities. All these things are good gifts, should be enjoyed and sought after, not dismissed as vestiges of a bygone era.
Nehemiah and Ezra Reintroduce the Scriptures
God gives us another example of the virtues of nostalgia in Nehemiah Chapter 8. Nehemiah had just completed rebuilding the walls of the city of Jerusalem after he had petitioned King Artaxerxes (through tears). In fact, the whole reason Nehemiah wanted to rebuild the walls was because of longing for returning to the traditions and land of his fathers.
Nehemiah called an assembly and had Ezra read the Law of God in the hearing of the people, and many heard it for the first time. The words of the Scripture were so novel to the returning exiles that they wept.
Afterwards, however, Nehemiah told them the following:
Go, eat the festival foods, drink the sweet drinks, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your refuge.” Then all the people went away to eat, drink, to send portions, and to celebrate a great feast, because they understood the words which had been made known to them. (Nehemiah 8:10,12)
The Israelites rejoiced in the rediscovery of the Scriptures because they knew that this was excellent, noble, and worthy of praise. Their ways had returned to them, and they could begin with a fresh start in both their societal and spiritual lives.
Application for Today and Some Personal Examples
Far from being transgressive, having nostalgia and reminiscing on the virtues of our past can fulfill God’s examples and commands to us to meditate on excellent, worthwhile endeavors.
Throughout my life as a church musician, when I was playing a prelude on the piano before the worship service, older Christian ladies would come up to me afterwards and thank me for playing their favorite traditional hymns. They would make comments like, “I sang that all the time when I was younger – thank you because we don’t hear those that much anymore.” Patients in nursing homes with dementia who hear these hymns also start singing because they are an integral part of their past and cemented into their memory. Nostalgia is a part of being human, and it is virtuous, especially for a Christian to meditate on its positive aspects.
Recently, my family and I took a vacation to my home state of Michigan. One of the reasons we went was because my two sons rarely see snow, and I wanted to show them what it was like to go sledding (I used to do it at recess in school). We also stayed in a town that I frequented as a child and even ate at the same restaurants and shopped in the same stores as I did in my childhood. It was nostalgic for me, but it was also a good gift that I could share with my wife and children.
Conclusion
In his recently published book “Against the Waves, Christian Order in a Liberal Age,” author Jon Harris advises us on the challenge but also the hope of rebuilding our treasured past:
“Restoring order on a mass scale while institutions are controlled by corrupt elites is a daunting task. However, there are many ways for us to build and cultivate counter-institutions that reflect the wisdom of the ages and the timeless truths in creation and Scripture. Perhaps, like a person recuperating from amnesia, we will begin to remember what we have lost as we start to familiarize ourselves with what we do know.” (p. 279)
There is much to be concerned about in our cultural decline, but rather than fret, we need to remember the good things about our past and thank God we still have the ability to enjoy and rebuild them, as Paul instructs us in Philippians and Nehemiah shows us through his example. Longing for home is not just a spiritual reality; it is here and now.
