The Selfish Generation

With today being Easter there is so much that can be said but in so little words.

Tetelestai // It. Is. Finished.

Going to a Christian school I am surrounded by those of the same faith. We have chapel every week, we have the opportunities to go on spring break mission trips, we have professors who openly will land can pray for you, we have prayer in class, we have the first hand experience of a Christian community but take a step just two blocks down the road and all of that changes.

Anderson is a nice college city. Not too big, but not too small either. The position of AU in Anderson is in the historic district but part of our campus extends our of the historic area.

While it is so easy to get wrapped up in this tiny Christian fused bubble it is so easy to forget about the outside world and get solely immersed in the Christian culture that is embodied on our campus.

With today being Easter I have been thinking about the truly lost generation that I live in.

How many 21 year olds can say that they attend a Christian university and are actually happy with their placement and faith. Very few, I'll tell you that.

It's so hard to live out your faith fully in a generation that relies on technology, pornography, selfies, and attention.

My generation is selfish. There's no other way to put it. We. Are. Selfish.

This generation is so wrapped up in trying to get the most likes, the newest technology, any form of pleasure and whatever else satisfies their earthly pleasures.

It's so hard.

It's hard to live a life devoted to God.
It's hard to be a Christian in a world full of hatred.
It's hard to be a person because your opinion is always wrong.
It's hard to be unique because you're an outcast if you don't go to a "megachurch."
It's hard to be yourself because you're worried if you're going to offend someone.

It's not fair to those who truly want to pursue God and have a relationship with Him when everyone is too dang concerned about hurting other peoples feelings.

When did we as people become so soft and stubborn all at the same time?

My generation.

There are so many things wrong with the appeal of a megachurch. The idea that people only go for the free things. Or the idea that they only go because they look like 'good Christian people.' Or even the idea that they want to be apart of this grand movement. But you know how a lot of those old grand movements got started...as one person claiming to be something they were not trying to falsely profess themselves as the God while subtly putting the emphasis on the one true God.

Now don't get me wrong, I am all for the idea of multitudes of people coming to Christ through multiple locations. To me that is awesome. But I am all for the idea of obtaining salvation the right way and not using money to pay your way into a church...but that's my side note.

Anyways, I'm under the opinion that people my age use the look of participating in a megachurch as a boost for popularity because they can say they are apart of a "movement."

So here's a story for you...

Last semester in my Colonial and Revolutionary America class I had a classmate that decided to interject her opinion on our discussion of the difference between religion during that time period and today. Her statement was, "I don't understand how people my age can not go out and try new things. They all go to their parents church because thats all they know and they are too afraid to go anywhere else."

Now knowing me, of course I'm gonna get salty --shoutout to Shawna and Randi for holding me from jumping across the oblong table.

But honestly, how can you say that you know why I go to the church that I go to just because you go to a megachurch and think life is all lilies and butterflies because you're in the world? No.

To her statement my response was simply this, "I go to my church back home because it is where I'm comfortable. My family goes there, I grew up there, I was saved there, I have friends there. That is my church home."

(which promptly shut her up.)

And that is what is wrong with my generation.

We are so caught up in ourselves that we have no common respect or understanding for why others do what they do. Had I not stood up for myself I would have been seen as one of those people who just do whatever their parents do. But no, that's not the case.

My wish for this generation is to relinquish their selfishness and be more considerate. Someone is always gonna have it worse than you. Someone is always going to have it better than you. But every person has a story and every story is different and until you know someones story you have no place to judge them or why they are who they are.



Just some food for thought:
-Have you given someone that benefit of the doubt?
-Are you one of those judgers?
and the ever classic...
-What would Jesus do?



Happy Easter everyone!

-LG