Most evident to me is the error (sin?) of Christian liberty. The young will claim their freedom in Christ as they commit one foolish act after another. "Flee temptation," says the Bible. "PFFFT," say the young. "Restraint!" says the scripture. "Eat, drink and be merry!" cries the young Believer. It is often only with age that we understand the difference between the sarcasm of Solomon and the plea of Christ to "be of good cheer." Rare indeed is the 20-something willing to let go their freedom to embrace the blessed slavery of the cross. Rare indeed is the youth capable of or even interested in understanding the difference between being save from sin and saved to serve. More common is the attitude of independence that claims the middle ground, lives not for Christ, not for Satan, but for self--if truth be told. Loudly they cry out, "NO! That's not true!" Then they'll head for the pub to talk about it, then go home to complain about it to their live-in girlfriend, blissfully unaware that they look and sound like idiots. (Justifying their questionable behavior with hollow, yet firmly held arguments such as "Luther did it" or "We're changing culture." Which is just a lot of bullsh... What they really mean, if they were honest with themselves is, "We want this. The world says it's hip, and we want to be hip too, so we're going to do it no matter what you say." Their theology, mostly gleaned by trolling the internet, is populist and sad; grounded in self rather than scripture.
If only they could all star in their own Youtube hit series! That would prove their intelligence! Wouldn't it?! If only we gray-haired old fogeys would read their blog! THEN we'd understand how the world REALLY is, and we'd KNOW how messed up WE are and how righteous THEY are. If only we'd bow to their superior interpretations of reality... But we don't. Mental midgets that we are, we insist that education and experience trump Myspace.
They want to change the world by conforming to it as much as possible without actually sinning. Have you ever been to the Grand Canyon? I have. And I noticed while there that they always put these guard rails up not at the very lip of the canyon, but set back several feet. Why? So you don't trip and fall over; to warn you of the danger you're in. And what do most kids do when they get there? Jump the rail and head for the edge! Now, they might not fall over, but that doesn't mean they made the right choice. The smart choice. The wise choice. Does it? Of course not. Yet that's the attitude of so many of today's youth. They want to push the limits.
Alcohol? "Who cares? Everyone drinks, don't they?"
Pre-marital sex? "Cool. As long as it's not actual intercourse, it's okay."
Gambling? "More innocent fun."
Co-habitating with your boyfriend/girlfriend? "If you don't like it, that's your problem!"
In all these cases and countless more, SIN is not necessarily present, but is CLEARLY lurking nearby. What it the WISE thing to do? I'll leave you to figure it out for yourself, just please don't ask anyone under 25.
I like the way J. Robertson McQuilken puts it:
I think God has planned the strength and beauty of youth to be physical. But the strength and beauty of age is spiritual. We gradually lose the strength and beauty that is temporary so we'll be sure to concentrate on the strength and beauty which is forever. It makes us more eager to leave behind the temporary, deteriorating part of us and be truly homesick for our eternal home. If we stayed young and strong and beautiful, we might never want to leave!
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Looking back at what I've just written, I can't help but feel a sense of deja vu. I've written this before. And it sounds like I hold a grudge against those blessed with the youth I've lost and misspent. I'm sorry for that. The fact is that I care very much for those in whose hand I must eventually leave the world. And they are wonderful, for all the mistakes they make. My own generation cannot escape the plain truth that WE are the ones responsible for failing to make the world a better place for them to grow up in, so how hard can I be, really, on those who follow?
Truth be told, I'm excited to see the incredible things they will do once they understand how precious life is; once they cease to take for granted the time they have and wisdom sets in like a fire out of control. Perhaps their passion will burn hot enough that they will succeed where we have failed. Wisdom, their great failing now, inevitably WILL come. And therein lies the hope. My own generation, the original "me" generation, has aimed our full measure of force on seeking our own selfish desires first. Perhaps our children, and theirs, will be wise enough to learn from that mistake...
