FINAL : VOICES THAT SUDENTS HEAR

CYNICISM - the disposition to reject any human enterprise as being unselfishly motivated.
It was Sunday morning after a moving time of testimonies from a group of students who had just returned from an epic youth camp experience. I was standing in the foyer of this church waiting for a ride for lunch when I overheard the following conversation between two adults.(My reason for being there was that I had been the guest speaker for camp.)

Adult #1 (male - over 50) - "We will see how long this lasts. It will probably be all gone once tough times hit."

Adult #2 (male over 50) - "They probably just committed because their friends were in on it or maybe they came forward to see if they were going to get anything out of it."

This little snip it of a conversation made me so upset that I had to move on so that I did not insert myself into the conversation and say something that I might have deeply regretted. However it does show that once again one of the major VOICES that the MILLENIALS are hearing is that of a total CYNIC. Parents and grandparents of this generation expressing total disbelief that the YOUTH CULTURE OF TODAY is intelligent enough to make a selfless decision that is in their best interests. The keyword being SELFLESS.

A true CYNIC believes that nobody can make decisions that result in actions where the total motivation is to make things better for themselves and others. To me this is the ultimate ANGST because this line of thinking leads to words like never, always, impossible, & no way becoming a regular part of our vocabulary due to our CYNICISM.

As a youth communicator with more than 30yrs of experience with students I hear those words way to often when listening to others describe what they see in them.

I want MY VOICE TO BE HEARD about this generation: I categorically disagree with the one sided assault by the elder generations before them that declare the youth culture of today to be total consumers, with a bent toward violence, laziness, greed, and apathy. To be sure there is that element with this youth culture but that has been there since James Dean.

I have found that they shield their eyes behind their Oakleys, cover their ears with ipods, wear their ballcaps any way but straight, busting a sag in $100 jeans, and (girls) revealing way to much skin all in a cry for help. IT IS A TEST TO SEE IF ANYBODY CARES ENOUGH TO GO BEHIND THE SMOKE SCREEN OF FALSE BRAVADO TO TELL THEM, "HEY, I REALLY DO CARE ENOUGH ABOUT YOU TO OVER LOOK SOME OF YOUR JUNK." They are trying to be shocking on the outside and unknowable on the inside. We must care enough to penetrate this armor they flash at us rather than taking on the VOICE of a total CYNIC who discounts everything coming from them as being totally selfishly motivated.

BELIEVE ME when I tell you that they are the hope of our country. They are the ones who will reach the others like them in ways that the ELDER generation cannot.

WHEN WILL WE STOP DOUBTING THEM AND RELEASE THEM TO REACH THE 3 BILLION PEOPLE ON THE PLANET WHO ARE 25 & UNDER?

Judg 6:14-15
14 Then the Lord turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?" 15 So he said to Him, "O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house." NKJV


Who told Gideon all those negative things about his family and his station in life? Who made Him believe that he was not capable just because of his family lineage? A NEGATIVE, CRITICAL, SKEPTICAL, CYNICAL INDIVIDUAL WHO DID NOT BELIEVE IN HIS GENERATION.

Mark 5:35
35 While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?" NKJV


Jesus was on the way to Jairus' house to minister to his daughter who was at the point of death. Jesus get interrupted by the woman with the issue of blood. The above verse appears right after the woman is healed and is the commentary of the observers of the situation at Jairus' house. "she is dead and not worth the trip." Well we know how well Jesus listened to them don't we? He totally ignored their commentary and went to her house and raised her from the dead.

Just like the commentators of old our commentators on today's generation (CNN, Newsweek, Coaches, Parents, Principals - yes, I know not all feel this way)tell us "they are dead and not worth the trip" which  is their assessment of the MILLENNIALS. Well I for one refuse to believe that commentary and I am going to show up in their bedroom and see Jesus raise them from the dead if necessary.

How about you? Will you just give up on them or will you step into the situation and make a difference?

BELIEVING IN A GENERATION,
Ed