Kids These Days!

In an earlier post, I stressed my intent to only speak from experience and try not to give my opinion.....well, of course....unless it was a GOOD one. Well, today, I will launch an opinion into the blogosphere.....and it's a good one!

Those of you who know me best may find this opinion a little shocking. It's been observed that I'm kind of a negative, cynical, "glass half empty" kind of guy. Maybe that's true. But I saw something on Tuesday morning that made a profound impact on me and has caused me to re-think my position on kids these days.

We toured Lipscomb University in Nashville this past Monday morning. We were excited to get to Monroe to visit our son, but decided to hang around until Tuesday, so that we could go to Chapel on campus Tuesday morning.

Chapel was a way cool experience! Lipscomb's Spring Break is next week and the theme of the morning's service was about the TWENTY-TWO different groups that would be leaving campus either yesterday or today headed to all kinds of places to try and make a difference in the world---just try to give some folks a little hope!

Islands I've never heard of. Places in Mexico I didn't know existed. The streets of New York. The inner-city of Atlanta.  Videos were played with students talking of their experiences and tears streamed down their faces as they described how they have spent every Spring Break in these locales and how their lives will never be the same. There's even a group headed to Panama City. There will be 500,000 students there next week getting sloppy drunk and groping each others' "toilet places." But there will be 14 kids there on the beach proving that life's not all about alcohol and toilet places!

So, here's the opinion. In general, this generation is less selfish, less materialistic, and much more concerned with making a difference in this world than my generation! Studies indicate that today's kids will be the first generation in this county to NOT make more money, live in bigger houses, or have a higher standard of living than their parents did.

And guess what? They could not care any less! I am finding that Tucker and Jentry's generation are actually even a little embarrassed by the emphasis my generation has put on the almighty dollar, climbing the corporate ladder, and trying so desperately to pay for that weekend getaway by the lake!

These kids want to make a difference! They want the hungry to be fed, the homeless to have shelter, and the hopeless to have hope. They are trying desperately to embarrass my generation into doing the right thing.

So, here's a big shout out from me to today's kids. Keep it up! Make a difference! Try to leave this planet a little better off than how you found it. God knows my generation didn't!