Sunday, January 29, 2012

The Patheticness of Teenagers

Let me tell you guys about something that has been on my heart lately. This is sure to offend a few of my readers, but it is disgustingly true and I don't know how to say it any other way than just...say it.

Teenagers/youth are getting more and more pathetic. Just a quick rant: I feel like teenagers have to be poked and prodded through every process, they have to be spoon fed, don't raise the stakes, never manage their time, can't complete simple tasks, make up excuses for their laziness, and in general don't do. 

Have I done this? By all means. Do I still fall into this? Most definitely. But, boy, oh boy, do I want more for myself, for you and for my generation? YES!

Some teenagers have it firmly engraved in their minds that youth is about playing around and not being responsible just because we are young and we "have our whole lives ahead of us." Like that is some sort of excuse for being lazy. Guys, the way you live and pattern your life now, will be how you live in your adult years. If you train yourself to blame your lack of accomplishment on things like school work, you will grow up and blame your lack of father-ship on your job...ect.

Guys, do you realize that you are the most formidable and impressionable during your teenage years?

I came across two interesting verses in Ecclesiastes 11:9 says, "Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment." 

This verse is basically saying, "Go ahead! Do what you like, but know that you are going to stand before God one day and have to account for all of it."

Yikes.

Guys, my question for you today is: "Are you intentionally using your young years?" Do you know that your life is a gift? God has given you each breath. Every move you make, you make because of the grace of a loving God. We - you and me - are the generation that has the power to change history. We may be the generation to see Christ's return, or we may be the generation that will turn our country around again. We are going to be the generation that is called to stand up against homosexuality, protect our children from the world's perversity and possibly endure the most serious persecution that American Christians have ever had to face. WE ARE THAT GENERATION. Can't you see? If you aren't buckling down and saying, "I'm going to live my youth to my fullest potential, with God's glory and my future in mind" then what exactly are you living for? Today? For your momentary pleasure?

Listen to how James describes our lives. James 4:14 "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."

He calls our lives a vapor. When I think of vapor I think of (thanks to Carroll Carman) when you see your breath in cold weather. You see it, then it vanishes. That is our life compared to eternity. You have that short of a time to impact people, souls, history and the kingdom. That is your life! How can you possibly be okay wasting time and saying, "I forgot." "I can't." "What do they think of me?" "Why should I?" "I don't care." "This doesn't matter." "I'm too young."

You don't have time to mess around! If you want to be a Christian that DOES SOMETHING you have to do it now! I'm not saying that you can't have fun. I'm not saying that you have to go start a anti-slavery campaign right now. What you DO have to do, is start with what you have. Challenge yourself to be the greatest person - to the glory of God - that you can be with the tasks you have before you right now. If that means writing a paper with excellence, then by God, right it with excellence. If that means cleaning your room, then by God, clean your room with a happy heart. If that means taking responsibility for your mistakes, then humbly take responsibility. You see, your future, the pattern for your life, starts right now. The way you handle life, tasks, others and God will impact you eternally. Forever. Wrap your mind around that!!

Why waste your life? Because you're young? You may not have your adult years. You could be taken before you turn eighteen. If that happens, what will you have accomplished in your life? If you died right now, what would be the impacting thing that you did that everyone will remember you for? Will it be your kindness, your heart for the Kingdom, the way you encouraged, the way you ministered with your gifts, the way you were academically the best you could be unto God? Or...will you be just another average teenager that tragically died early? Are people going to rejoice that your years were fruitful, or will your parents wish that you had a few more years so you could actually do something with your life? Will you be remembered by your witty face-book updates, or your drive for excellence? This is a choice YOU and ONLY YOU can make.

You don't serve an average God, so don't be an average teenager! How can you be? How can you live a life of complacency when you are serving a supreme God? Don't settle for that. And don't live life for yourself, or so that your name will be known. Live it for God. More of Him and less of us.

The Bible says, "Don't despise your youth. But be an example."

We are the generation. We can either keep on lugging this ridiculous, good-for-nothing rep we've made for ourselves, or we can kick it and say, "No more! We live for the King now."

What are you going to do?

3 comments:

Jessy said...

wow. honestly ashes i dont know what to say. i agree. i dont want to be one of those lazzy slefish teenager who thinks that they have their whole life ahead of them.because tomorrow could be the end of my "whole life" heck five minutes from now could be the end of my "whole life" and when i die i dont want people to remember me for oh yeah she was good at volleyball( i mean i do but i dont want that to be the first thing that comes to everyones mind). or oh yeah she had awesome hair thats not how i want to be rememebered i want to be remembered for being a kind,godly,responsible young lady. and i cant be that if im aalways "too busy" to step and take the responsibility or take the time to do things to the best of my ability. i cant do that without people to remind me along the way. i cant do that unless i have God and i ask him to help me! I couldnt do that or be that if i didnt have the chance! a the chance that only a merciful loving God could give me and help me too accoplish! and i wont be able to be remembered like that unless i take action and not waait to take the action but step up and take that action now.

ashlley thank you SO much for posting this like for real this made me cry you have shown me that im not being well not just the teenager i need to be but not the young woman or person i should be! so thank you a million times thank you. i know half the stuff i said probably didnt fit together well but i hope you still understood it! love ya sissa
btw: you should be like a motivational speaker at christian confrences. no joke. :)

Logan Vaughan said...

Awesome awesome awesome post!!!! I couldn't agree more with what you said! I fully agree than we shouldn't think that the teenage years are years we can waste. We are guaranteed the rest of our lives! You have to make the most of the time you have- because you aren't guaranteed the rest of your life. What do you want to be remembered for? If you died today, what WILL you be remembered for?

Don't waste your life.

Meggie said...

Thanks Ashley. I am going to save this post to my computer and read it over in a couple of weeks. We need the reminder... we forget and go along with the world for awhile then God shakes us and brings us back to where we are and what we are doing. Please forgive us, Lord.

Blessings,
Meggie