Before I begin, let me put out a disclaimer. My hope is that if you read this you will hear a voice that is deeply passionate, caring, and respectful. I have tried my best not to come across as harsh or bitter. I hope that you will experience this article in the way it was intended: for insight from a single voice of the Millenial generation and our hope to work together.
Photo credit: Stock photo-Explore God
Photo Credit: Time Magazine
Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to read the article. I have only read what other's have said about it and seen the newscasts discussing it. One of the newscasts I saw echoed the same sentiments declared on the cover of Time. I will grant them the fact that our younger generation has its fair share of narcissists, but I don't think any more than any other generation has had. The unfortunate fact in all of these discussions is that every generation will claim that their generation is best. It's silly when you think about it. Even as a 25 year old, I often look at kids and want to tell them to "go outside for a change!" I guess the "Get-off-my-lawn" gene starts developing even at a very early age, but I digress.
The real reason I wanted to approach this topic is because I feel like a lot of people are talking for my generation and about my generation. I thought you'd might like to hear from one of us. Please know that this is one twentysomething's opinion. I don't speak for the whole of my generation, but there are some things that I think you should hear from us that will hopefully allow us to join together in this thing we call "life." So here we go.
1) Talking negatively to or about us is not going to motivate us
I have heard more people speaking down to those of us in the younger generation than I have speaking encouragement to us. There have been times when I have heard people putting down the Millenial generation by labeling us as lazy, entitled, narcissistic, and selfish. I would probably say if you watch MTV or E! you would be able to make those general, sweeping comments about our entire generation. However, truth be told, that is not all of us. There is a large majority of us who believe a better world is possible, and we are doing everything we can to make sure we see that change happen. However, when we read articles, see news reports, and hear people talk about us in a way that generalizes and demeans us we immediately tune you out.
One example I can give you is how coaching in high school/collegiate sports are changing. Now I am not a coach or a player, so I can only speak of what I am observing. On sports radio I often hear stories of players transferring or walking away from sports because of the way their coaches have treated them. Many reporters have deemed this as "weakness" or being too much of a sissy. However, I think its more about how my generation receives criticism. We work better under environments that are encouraging and respectful. It's hard for us to listen and hear what you are saying when you only articulate the negative things about us. Now I know that my generation has a lot of work to do to earn the respect of other generations, but I've always been of the mindset that respect and encouragement is a two-way street.
I think we can all work together. I am so grateful for the path that generations before me have paved so that I can do the things I am called and passionate about doing. However, saying hurtful and demeaning things about anyone in any age group is going to get us nowhere. So, in the words of Thumper from the Disney classic Bambi, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."
2) We are going to do things that we are passionate about, which means we are not going to do some things
I have a saying that "Life is too short to work at a job that you hate." Our generation is not going to pour their time and energy into passionless work. I think you will see less and less people working 9-5 jobs to chase the American Dream and establish a life for themselves. Generally speaking, this is where people start to think we are lazy and entitled. If the job we are at isn't fulfilling to us, we aren't going to do it for long. For me personally, that comes back to this whole "brevity of life" idea. We don't have as much time here on Earth as we think. Like I said above, the Millennial generation believes in systemic change (not that other generations haven't) and there are many of us who are trying to live our lives in a way that reflects that. As a Christian Millennial, I realize that God has called me to bring the Kingdom of God to Earth as it is in Heaven. If that principle is not reflected in my work, I'm probably not going to be doing it. So whether I am a minister, a computer programmer, an accountant, a nurse's aid, a plumber, or whatever, if I am not passionate about my work and believe in it's ability to evoke meaningful change I'm not going to do it. We'll often find something else that will allow us to use our passions and skills.
I saw in a newscast earlier this week that they project that companies will eventually change the way they label jobs, hire people, and create jobs. I think that will be a good change. We can work together! I know we can!
3) Tolerance and Love mean two different things in our vocabulary
The past several weeks, especially in church related conversations and articles, I have heard many individuals refer to the Millennial Generation as "the most tolerant generation in history." I think what we have here is a language barrier. What the older generations have perceived as tolerance, my generation understands as love. As a Christian, I believe I am called by God to love all people, no matter their religious beliefs, sexual orientations, skin color, political beliefs, education level, or social standing. It is unfortunate that this has been interpreted wrongly. Please know that just because we show compassion and love towards those with different beliefs than our own doesn't mean that we agree or condone their belief system. We may not agree with their understandings of life, but without love we will possess zero influence with them. Jesus consistently found himself amongst the thieves, hookers, drunkards, and gluttons that doesn't mean Jesus was any of those things or that he approved of these behaviors. But he did show them compassion, love, and understanding. As a person who claims Jesus as my Lord, I will always choose love first, even at the risk of being considered "tolerant."
Always.
I believe that God's love is the only thing that can change this world for the better. I believe that through that love he is bringing all things back to himself and restoring all things to their proper order. When we start with love, compassion, and respect we will have more opportunities to share the true love of God with others.
If you are of one of the older generations, I understand your concern. You want to protect those things that you have poured your passions and energies into. The Millennial Generation is not trying to take that away. We believe that in order to reach the world with God's love we are going to have to work together. That means putting down some of our weapons and hugging some people. I hope you will join me.
Conclusion
Again, I hope that I have not come across as harsh or bitter. I am neither of those things. I just wanted to you hear from someone who is living as the "younger generation" and some of things we are perceiving. I have the utmost respect and love for those who are older than me. As mentioned, you have paved the way for my generation to do what we love and change the world. I hope that we can continue to dialogue with each other, joining together to make this world a better place. And I pray that the grace of God will cover us so that we can look past each other's faults so that we may declare his unfailing love to the world around us.
If anyone would like to share some more thoughts, whether from a Millennial point of view or from one of the older generations, please feel free to comment below.
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