In Defense of Millennials!

BP posted a video about Millennials on The Facebook the other day and it was hilarious! I did not share it with The Angel Baby because her mother implored me to not use that word so much this Summer. I honored that request for about forty-eight hours and then went on one of my rants, pointing out the same tired "talking points" about what a pathetic generation that has arisen!

I know! I know! They got trophies for going winless on their 5 year old soccer teams. Their sports leagues no longer keep scores in order to protect their self-esteem. They cannot handle criticism and think they deserve pay raises for their perfect attendance!

The list goes on and on and on. They are easy to pick on. They make good targets. It's almost as though they deserve it. I would like, however, to make a few points that are worthy of consideration before we flush this generation down the toilet:

1) THEY DO NOT CARE! Our criticism of them slides right down their backs. In spite of our scorn, they continue to trudge along the best way they know how. They are coming out of College with an average of $30,000 in loans. Is the cost of higher education their fault? They know that 99% of corporations won't even look at their resumes if they are non-degreed. In fact, one Hiring Manager shared with me that he can only consider candidates with a degree from a list of FIVE universities! Did the Millennials set this ridiculous standard? I think not. But this is the burden that has been placed on them and they are DOING IT ANYWAY!

2) THEY ARE MORE AUTHENTIC THAN WE EVER WERE! They are disgusted by our shallowness and yearn for something real! That's why they are pouring out of churches like rats off a sinking ship. Religion, as we taught it, is so plastic and fake. They don't see the point of the "going through the motions" like we do every Sunday morning and they have disengaged from the lack of genuine spirituality.

3) THEY REALLY NEED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE! I can name a whole list of Millennials that are ALL about serving others. They go on Mission trips. They visit orphanages. They are obsessed with providing clean water to third world counties. They even go to Animal Shelters, just to pet the homeless animals, for crying out loud!

4) THEY ARE WAY LESS MATERIALISTIC THAN WE WERE! They could not give a popcorn fart about wearing Calvin Kleins or if their shirt has a horsey or an alligator on it! They shop at Thrift Stores and for the most part, go to class, worship, and work looking homeless, if they can get away with it.

Oh, for the most part, I still think they are a sorry generation. In spite of the above comments, they do present themselves as a tad "entitled" sometimes. I'm just not convinced that they are the sorriest generation.

After all: Just WHO gave them the trophies? WHO insisted that we no longer keep score? WHO drove their college tuitions sky high? WHO mandated that they be college educated and that it be at one of five Universities? WHO carried them to churches that look like Museums for Saints?

I may not know much. But I know the Millennials didn't!