Is it wrong to be nostalgic / have nostalgia?

Response

Nostalgia is a profound sentimental yearning for the past, whether it be one’s own past or a historical period. Typically, nostalgia is accompanied by the belief that the world was superior in a previous era or that a former time in one’s life was better than the current situation. Longing for “the good old days” is a nostalgic sentiment, and it is a common emotion to experience at times. In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon discusses comparing the past to the present: “Do not say, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’ For it is not wise to ask such questions” «Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this. », (Ecclesiastes 7:10). Is Solomon suggesting that nostalgia is unwise or that being nostalgic is incorrect? If so, why?

What Solomon appears to be addressing in Ecclesiastes 7:10 is not the emotion of nostalgia itself but the unwise mindset it can sometimes foster. There are occasions when we all perceive the past as superior in some aspect to the present. Particularly during challenging times, it is easy for us to recall ourselves as happier or more content than we currently are. However, we often have selective memories. Each day brings its own challenges «Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.», (Matthew 6:34). Things were not as idyllic as we tend to remember them in hindsight.

When an individual allows themselves to be consumed by feelings of nostalgia, it can result in various unproductive and detrimental behaviors. Dwelling on the past is a way of losing touch with reality. We are encouraged to “make the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”

“Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:16) And to be waiting for the good future God has promised, diligently doing good and seeking peace (2 Peter 3:11-14; Romans 2:7). To dwell on the past or obsess over former days is to yearn for something we can never attain, and that can only end in heartbreak. Better than dwelling in a nostalgic, half-true picture of the past is focusing on God’s work in the present and His rock-solid promises for the future. We have a home in heaven, where, as David puts it, there is “fullness of joy” and “pleasures forevermore” in the presence of God (Psalm 16:5-6, 11).

Nostalgia, the longing emotion, is not sinful—no emotion on its own is sinful. But nostalgia can tempt us to dwell in the past and make us ineffective in the present. Soldiers for Christ do not get “entangled in civilian pursuits,” and this is exactly what happens when we get too wrapped up in asking “why can’t things just be as they used to be?” “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” (see 2 Timothy 2:4). Paul did not waste time reliving “the good old days”; rather, he said, “One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal” (Philippians 3:13-14). We, too, should engage the present and look forward to the future. We have “a living hope” and “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade . . . kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4).

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