Where Did We Go Wrong? (and how can we stop it)

         We have been called a lazy generation. Hey, you got us pegged! But it is not a lack of energy, it's a lack of motivation. We were raised in daycares and malls. We are looking for more than YouTube and coffee can offer. Isolationism has timed out in America and we struggling to find our place in the word. We need HOPE. We needed something to FIGHT FOR but all we were given was consumerism. We're empty.      
          We are a disillusioned generation. And this is how it happened. Most Americans have no idea how the average African or Afghani lives. Millennials are shocked when see news reports from conflict areas and disaster zones. They are confused why their parents don't care that people are dying in Syria. I remember the horror I felt as I read BBC news on my mac thousands of miles away from the pain. I was 20 years old and yes, I felt like I should be doing more to alleviate the suffering of humanity. 
          For my generation Gaza, Colombia, and the Sudan are not as far from the US as they were a generation ago. The reality is if you want to get involved, it only takes a little money and you are on a plane and in the mix. The willingness to sacrifice is the greatest strength of our generation. [Please hear this!] Extremist groups the world over feed off this strength and pervert it. If you believe in a cause strongly enough, there are people that will give you a gun and tell you what “kind of people” to kill. As a generation we are desperately searching for HOPE. If you are over forty you can understand this. Your generation had cause after cause and you changed the world. You created international democracy and fostered the Green Revolution. But, my generation has been given stuff to buy and nothing to live for. 
          Our grandfathers came of age in a different America and they believed in their country.  They were willing to fight history's greatest enemies and they are heroes because they fought for what they truly believed in. WWII was a crucible, and as a country, we fought the dragons and defended our homes form evil. My grandfather loved HIS county, not THE country. But, what do I have? What can we believe in? Yes, we were given t-shirt and stickers, but that was not enough. So, we retired to video games and Facebook. The biggest failure was the CHURCH. A belief that is void of passion and has NO power in your life is horribly unappealing to my generation. Cartoons are for kids and Micky Mouse Christianity is not worth the sacrifice. It is not worth the time. That is why we don’t like going to church. We don't buy it. You are telling me about a god that can make me HAPPY. I want a JESUS that will give me a fight and an opportunity to sacrifice something. Jesus of Nazareth is something I can risk it all on. I love that Guy and He can ask me to do anything. Why? Because he has given me something worth dying for. 


We have to raise the bar or we lose a whole generation.