Generation of Contradictions

We are a generation of contradictions. We want every fast and everything to last.

We're the generation that wants the fountain of youth, without searching for it, and while we're still young.We want the status that comes with age, but with the beauty of youth. Death is looked upon as an escape of sorts. If we die young, we won't age. In a sense, we will be young forever. Years ago, The Who sang this sentiment: "I hope I die before I get old." We have lost the patience of previous generations. Jacob who worked 14 years for Rachel? Now we meet at online dating sites and get married in Vegas. Or we skip the marriage process altogether and opt for the quicker, "easier" route of living together without commitment.

We want our name to live on, without putting our name down for anything, whether it be for a traditional office job or a marriage license. We desire connection and community without commitment.

We desire the lives of the rich and famous.

One of our greatest fears is dying alone, unknown and unheard. We want everyone to know and everyone to care. We tweet our lives, and hope someone cares. We network, collecting friends, fans, and followers. Our second greatest fear is that we are insignificant. We want to be someone, do something. We want to change the world. We want a purpose, something bigger than we are.

We're the generation of "The Fast and Furious," but also "I am Legend."

We fear investing, but we want profit, rewards, renown.

See the contradiction? We want immediacy, but we also want legitimacy. We scorn fakes, and desire to make a name for ourselves however possible. How else do you think sites like YouTube came into being and stay in existence? We want our five minutes of fame, our moment of significance, to simply know that someone knows who we are, and maybe even cares.

This has, sadly, climaxed in suicide. As the band Brand New puts it: "If I ever need attention, all I have to do it die." Singer Jon Foreman reiterates this idea: "They won't pay a cent to hear you laughing .They might pay a little to hear you cry. If you do it long enough, they might even pay attention, but they still won't pay respect until you die."

It's a lie.

Our generation has fled from anything that resembles past generations. We can do it faster and better. So long to VCR's. So long to religion. With religion comes responsibility, and, while we desire status, the responsibility that comes with that position is something we avoid altogether. We equate religion with rules, and rules, we think, will only tie us down. They want to stop us from becoming all we can be, from excelling, from being somebody, from having something and everything.

How can my generation be saved? Are we destined for this climb of temporary greatness, then sudden rush into nothing, then death, then, if we're lucky, we will live on. As Batman put it: "A man is just flesh and blood and can be ignored or destroyed. But as a symbol... as a symbol, I can be incorruptible, everlasting." If death leads to nothingness, but after we become nothing, our name lives on, isn't that something? So, once again, we despair of living.

There is hope for my generation. This hope is what it has always been from the very beginning of time: Jesus Christ. How do we reach a generation with this hope, when they immediately dismiss it either as an outdated religion or a helpful, but not saving, teaching? Our generation longs for significance and legacy, but also immediacy. Jesus Christ offers both. He gives purpose and life, and the work done through Him and for Him lives on into eternity. His salvation is immediate. He doesn't wait until you are perfect to save you. He doesn't wait until you are older, or smarter, or richer, or when you have made a name for yourself. He saves you immediately, when you confess your sin to Him, repent, and follow Him. There are two key words here: repent and follow. They imply commitment. This scares our commitment-phobic generation. Even so, not only is it a commitment, but it an investment. You are investing a few short decades here for an eternity. A legacy. A hope.

Our generation has no hope. We are desperate, dying. Longing for a Savior we don't know we need.

"I'm just talkin' 'bout my generation. This is my generation. This is my generation, baby."

These have been some of my recent thoughts about my generation. I'll be adding onto this, perhaps organizing my thoughts more.

What do you think?