When I look at my Facebook page and see beyond all of the pointless political memes there is an underlying theme that I have noticed that shows division between generations. There is a general disrespect from the older generations of the millennial generation and there is a lot of whining and demanding unearned respect from the millennial generation. I am 37 years old. I was born just north of the cusp between generation x and the millennial generation. I am technically generation x, but I spend most of my time serving alongside and living alongside millennials. I am writing this to you, millennials, but I’m not writing this from a place of judgement because I have been guilty of a lot of the things I’m going to speak into and I also see so much potential in you. I want to see you rise to that potential.
Different from most people in the millennial generation I was raised in an environment where hard work (manual labor) was valued and risk was a part of daily life. My childhood was spent mowing lawns, exploring, climbing things and blowing stuff up. I thank God for the blessing he gave me when I fell out of my first tree, got bit by my first dog, sliced my arm on my first chain-link fence, and got punched in the face the first time. I learned early that life hurts sometimes, but the rewards of living life outweigh the risk getting hurt. Bruises, cuts, burns, and broken bones heal. Unfortunately, a lot of the people I spend my time with now didn’t get blessed with these experiences and the world blames them for something that wasn’t entirely their fault. A perception of who they are is holding them back from who they were born to be.
Millennials, when the world (baby boomers and older gen x-ers) looks at you they see lazy, entitled children who will not live up to their standards. I wouldn’t get too offended by this because it is actually pretty true and offense gets nobody anywhere. Not all of you, but a lot of you are actually somewhat lazy and entitled. They actually made you that way by coddling you into it. Helicopter parenting, video game babysitters, and participation trophies told you that you deserve things you haven’t earned and that you shouldn’t take risks because you might get hurt. A lot of you were kept indoors in a safe little bubble because the world is dangerous and somebody might steal you. The world is dangerous and somebody might steal you, but that’s not an excuse to avoid living. Because of the way you were raised, a lot of you never fell out a tree and broke a bone or cut yourselves climbing fences and now you are scared to death of any little bit of pain the world might have for you. This fear causes you to be passive, but you are not called to be passive. You are called to be fighters. You are called to be warriors.
So yes, the older generations had their part in creating this passive, somewhat lazy and entitled monster. Get over it. This is no excuse to stay that way. You are a generation who sees the world very differently than the generations before you. You don’t really care much about the things the older generations value, like wealth and status and white picket fences. Your focus is greatly geared toward social justice and fixing the things you see wrong with the world. These things are of God. I believe that you are the generation that will rise up and bring the kingdom of God across the globe. I believe that you are a generation destined to obliterate oppression and heal this hurting world. I believe that you were created to be warriors who won’t stand for injustice and will free people from all forms of bondage. This is who God called you to be. This is who God called all of us to be. My generation and the generation before mine, as a whole, set this calling aside for selfish ambition and worldly comforts. In the 90’s we swore that generation x was the generation that would bring real change. We “Rocked the Vote” that one time..then most of us slowly morphed into spitting images of our parents generation because that was what was comfortable. Now most of my generation has potbellies and 9 to 5 jobs we hate. We sometimes put on Pearl Jam CDs and dream of the days when we wore flannel and said we would never conform. But conform we did and very little of the change we wanted to see ever happened. Don’t follow my generation’s example.
Yes, Adulting IS Hard. Drag your ass out of bed before the crack of noon and do it anyway. You guys are passionate and have real vision. You guys have some great ideas that are selfless and powerful. The Lord has anointed you as fighters who value the results of the battle more than you value the American dream. You are a generation who will walk out of the wilderness and enter the promised land. I’m prophesying this over you right now. I am committed to walking this out alongside you. It will take a lot of work. It will take risk. It is going to hurt pretty bad at times. Its going to take honoring the commitments you make. Its going to take the humility to accept advice and correction from people who have walked the earth longer than you. It’s worth it though. The kingdom advancing is worth everything. Don’t let the fear of giants keep you from tasting the milk and honey. I’m not! I’m going to storm Hebron and kill every damn giant I see! Whose coming with me?
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