Generation Cupcake

I'm not sure who coined the phrase for this generation of pampered, spoiled, overindulged young people but it really seems to fit. And it's so sad. I know I'm generalizing here- there are some kids out there who are well mannered, hard working, and willing to sacrifice but the majority of young people- age 8 to 25- today have been raised with a 'the world owes me a living and I can do what I want' mentality.

Take for example the story circulating the web right now about the bus monitor who was bullied to tears on her bus route by a bunch of middle schoolers. This type of behavior is all too common today because parents (again I'm generalizing) refuse to take Proverbs 13:24 to heart. “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.”

When did it become okay for kids to abuse others- even their elders, authority figures, parents? Bullies have been around forever but it's nearly impossible to read or listen to the news these days and not hear of a new instance of a child being bullied so badly that they take their own lives, or children ganging up and abusing a teacher, grandparent, or parent. Why aren't parents willing to understand that this kind of behavior comes from a lack of discipline? If children are raised in a home where respect is demanded then children learn to respect others.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying to beat your kids and rule with an iron fist. If you discipline in love that sort of punishment isn't necessary. A smack on the backside is sometimes necessary but if the parents will lead by example, it's rarely needed. So many parents have the 'Do as I say, not as I do' philosophy and that leads to a lack of respect by the children because they view their parents as hypocrites.

If you want your children to grow up treating others with respect, then you have to treat others with respect while your children are growing up. If you want your children to have a good work ethic, then you need to show them how it's done. If you don't want your kids to drink and/or smoke then you shouldn't either. Don't abuse your spouse and your child won't either. Don't do drugs and teach your children about the danger and most likely your child will abstain as well. LEAD BY EXAMPLE!!

Generation cupcake can still be saved but many members of this group are already so far gone there's no reaching them. They've been raised in schools where everybody wins, everybody makes the team, everybody passes every test. Their 'self esteem' is put above all else and because of this they feel they can do no wrong, they will never lose, and that the world will cater to their ever whim. And these are our future leaders folks! I don't know about you but that terrifies me.

Get ahold of your kids and introduce them to the rod!

You can be a missionary too!

Back in 2002, my mom got me all the Left Behind Dramatic Audio Series for Christmas. It was a wonderful gift and one I've enjoyed listening to several times since. This week I loaded them all onto my IPod and began listening to them again because it's been awhile and this time, it's hitting me differently than it ever has before. This time, instead of simply entertaining me, it's impressing upon me the urgency of this time we're in.

At no other time in history has the world been so primed for the events of the book of Revelation to take place. This world is a powder keg, just waiting for some cataclysmic event to light the match. An event like, maybe, the rapture of the church.

And when that happens, every single person who has never heard of Jesus, every single person who has rejected Jesus, every single person who has chosen to not make a choice...will be left behind in a world that none of us can even begin to imagine. A world so awful, so hateful, so terrifying that few will survive. 75% of the world's population that gets left behind will die before Jesus returns at the end of 7 years.

Can you see the urgency? Can you see why it's so important to support missions and to be missionaries?

If you, my friends reading this, are anything like me, you learned about missionaries in Sunday school and the vision of African villages was set in your mind. Wonderful people going to the other side of the world to help people living in mud huts and tell them about Jesus. That's the picture that always came to my mind when someone mentioned missionaries to me.

BUT THERE'S MORE! You can go right next door to your house and be a missionary! You can go down the street or to the next town over and be a missionary! You don't have to go far but God commands that you GO!

Help the widows and orphans, visit the prisoners, feed the homeless, clothe the naked....and show them Jesus! Make your neighborhood your mission field. Make the tellers at the local bank your mission field, the clerk at the grocery store, your child's teachers, and your children's friends. The United States of America is a mission field in desperate need of workers...and as Jesus says, "The harvest is plenty but the workers are few."

Will you be a worker for Jesus?