"I'm telling you, it's never been this bad."
"It wasn't like this when we grew up."
"Kids today . . . ."
Please forgive me for offering my opinion here, but I am growing weary of these comments. I agree that times are hard, but I must remind you that there is nothing new under the sun. We are living in times of economic hardship and political unrest, but every era has been impacted by catastrophic circumstances. The Great War. The Great Depression. Slavery. Child Labor. The Holocaust. The Civil War. The Crusades. We must admit that our world is under the influence of evil forces, but there have always been tragic periods of history.
So, my question is, "What are you gonna do about it?" I can assure you that standing around complaining is not helpful. It may seem overwhelming to think about changing our world, but if we each do our part, we can make a difference. You may have heard the analogy of the boy throwing starfish into the ocean when he found them washed up on the beach. He was questioned by an old man who told him he could never make a difference, but the boy tossed another starfish into the water and said, "It made a difference to that one." The moral of the story is that we cannot become discouraged by the vastness of our mission. Instead, we must focus on the positive difference we can make in the life of one person at a time, one day at a time. One of my current mantras is, "I can only do what I can do, one day at a time."
Again, my question is, "What are we doing about it?" We find a positive example in the book of Titus, Chapter 2. Paul instructed Titus to teach others, to mentor them in wise living. Did Paul expect Titus to teach the whole world? No. He challenged him to teach the people he knew. The people Titus taught were then expected to teach others. Titus was charged with training the trainer. And that my friend, is where we fall short in our churches today. We sit in our comfy chairs on Sunday mornings and soak up the teaching of the lead pastor. Then we go our merry ways and come back to sit and soak the next Sunday. We sit. We soak. We sour. Our current church model is that it's the preacher's job to study the Word and distribute it to the masses. We are missing the point! It's okay to enjoy a great sermon, but if you never pass it on, then you are like the sour sponge sitting by the sink that never gets "squoze." (Squoze is a word coined by my sweet husband in one of his most memorable sermon illustrations.)
Paul told Titus to teach the old men and women, who could then pass on the teaching to the young men and women. Be teachable and then teach others the lessons God is teaching you. As Dave Ramsey says, "It's not rocket surgery." The trouble is that Satan convinces us that we do not have anything valuable to pass on to the next generation. We know we don't have life figured out; so we feel inadequate to tell others how to do life. That's baloney! Young people need to hear your stories. They need to know that life was hard for you too, but that God is faithful and will bring them through tough times.
Instead of complaining about "these kids today," will you choose a kid to mentor? You just might be surprised at how much you will learn from each other.
"It wasn't like this when we grew up."
"Kids today . . . ."
Please forgive me for offering my opinion here, but I am growing weary of these comments. I agree that times are hard, but I must remind you that there is nothing new under the sun. We are living in times of economic hardship and political unrest, but every era has been impacted by catastrophic circumstances. The Great War. The Great Depression. Slavery. Child Labor. The Holocaust. The Civil War. The Crusades. We must admit that our world is under the influence of evil forces, but there have always been tragic periods of history.
photo credit: https://imgflip.com/i/120trj
So, my question is, "What are you gonna do about it?" I can assure you that standing around complaining is not helpful. It may seem overwhelming to think about changing our world, but if we each do our part, we can make a difference. You may have heard the analogy of the boy throwing starfish into the ocean when he found them washed up on the beach. He was questioned by an old man who told him he could never make a difference, but the boy tossed another starfish into the water and said, "It made a difference to that one." The moral of the story is that we cannot become discouraged by the vastness of our mission. Instead, we must focus on the positive difference we can make in the life of one person at a time, one day at a time. One of my current mantras is, "I can only do what I can do, one day at a time."
Again, my question is, "What are we doing about it?" We find a positive example in the book of Titus, Chapter 2. Paul instructed Titus to teach others, to mentor them in wise living. Did Paul expect Titus to teach the whole world? No. He challenged him to teach the people he knew. The people Titus taught were then expected to teach others. Titus was charged with training the trainer. And that my friend, is where we fall short in our churches today. We sit in our comfy chairs on Sunday mornings and soak up the teaching of the lead pastor. Then we go our merry ways and come back to sit and soak the next Sunday. We sit. We soak. We sour. Our current church model is that it's the preacher's job to study the Word and distribute it to the masses. We are missing the point! It's okay to enjoy a great sermon, but if you never pass it on, then you are like the sour sponge sitting by the sink that never gets "squoze." (Squoze is a word coined by my sweet husband in one of his most memorable sermon illustrations.)
Paul told Titus to teach the old men and women, who could then pass on the teaching to the young men and women. Be teachable and then teach others the lessons God is teaching you. As Dave Ramsey says, "It's not rocket surgery." The trouble is that Satan convinces us that we do not have anything valuable to pass on to the next generation. We know we don't have life figured out; so we feel inadequate to tell others how to do life. That's baloney! Young people need to hear your stories. They need to know that life was hard for you too, but that God is faithful and will bring them through tough times.
Instead of complaining about "these kids today," will you choose a kid to mentor? You just might be surprised at how much you will learn from each other.
