Never Forget

I read a story on Fox News about raising a generation of narcissists which can be found here. The outlook for the generation who now are university students doesn't look well. It seems that we've raised a generation that describes themselves as driven but yet fails to display a strong, hard work ethic. We have a generation that thinks they're gifted writers yet their writing and reading abilities are lower than that of previous generations. We have a generation that has a false sense of equality. After spending years on Facebook and other social media outlets, they think they live in a equal power world and fail to understand the hierarchy that is found in the real business world or in other relationships.

While we may blame the parents and environment for this false sense of "uber-self-esteem", I think it's important to identify the two extremes I think we have resorted to. On one end we have the everyone's a winner syndrome where there are no winners or losers in the soccer games, students cannot fail in school, and achievement is based more on what you hope to accomplish than what you can actually do. It's great to recognize potential in someone, but if you do nothing to develop that potential and the potential is never realized, should that someone have an inflated ego based on unrealized potential? It's an entitlement society where we don't have any personal responsibility but everyone has responsibility for us.

The other extreme is to be told that you can do anything if you just work hard enough. While it's a great American idea that we can all grow up to be president, the truth is not everyone can be president. Not everyone works hard and is able rise to the very top of his field.  You can work really hard and still be average.

I was reading in the Psalms this morning and read the 78th.

       O my people, listen to my instructions.
    Open your ears to what I am saying,

    for I will speak to you in a parable.
I will teach you hidden lessons from our past— 

     stories we have heard and known,
    stories our ancestors handed down to us.
 We will not hide these truths from our children;
    we will tell the next generation
about the glorious deeds of the Lord,
    about his power and his mighty wonders.
 For he issued his laws to Jacob;
    he gave his instructions to Israel.
He commanded our ancestors
    to teach them to their children,
 so the next generation might know them—
    even the children not yet born—
    and they in turn will teach their own children.
 So each generation should set its hope anew on God,
    not forgetting his glorious miracles
    and obeying his commands.
 Then they will not be like their ancestors—
    stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful,
    refusing to give their hearts to God.

We should spend more time talking about what God has done, is doing, and will do. Perhaps if we focused more on what God is doing than man's accomplishments, the next generations would be wise, obedient, faithful, and willing to give their hearts to God. We would be declaring His works, and they would impact generations. Perhaps we have forgotten what God has done. We don't spend personal time in the Bible, time with our families in the Bible, and we're not sharing what God is doing in our lives today.

John 15:5 says, "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing." We should be telling the next generation that apart from Jesus Christ, we can do nothing. True success comes from being in Him, knowing what He wants you to do, and giving it your all. Giving it your all means complete obedience to whatever whenever. It means realizing that yes, He has given us talents, but apart from Him and being used for His glory they're nothing.

In the world of video games we can all be the greatest race car driver, a successful Olympian, or the strongest fighter, but in real life there are going to be ups and downs that we have to learn to navigate. We cannot delete every comment that does not confirm our inflated egos. We cannot always be the best, but we can all succeed if we're busy doing what God has called each of us to do. A healthy understanding of who we are as humans and who we are in Christ will do much more for the next generations.