Perhaps you’ve heard of it. Chances are, if you’re reading this, you’re a part of this generation. Not generation X, and not generation Y. The Entitlement Generation. Just like every generation before us, we have now received a title that describes us all. They’ve finally got it figured out – this is who we are, all of us. Right? (I’m being sarcastic, by the way). Though it is not true of everyone, we must face up to the reality that this is the largest emerging ground of commonality we share as a people group. The experts are putting it something like this (this is my interpretation):
The Great Depression hits, people begin stockpiling their money so it won’t happen again. This maturity allows them to enjoy a certain degree of “success”. Their children have a more secure future, and suddenly everyone’s having babies. The baby boomers enter the scene. All these children are born into a more prosperous situation than their parents and grandparents were, and so they continue the trend of success, only without being directly exposed to the reason behind it (being the Depression). Their appreciation for hard work becomes not about survival, but about success for the sake of success. Those people have babies (Generation X), and then those babies have babies – enter the Entitlement Generation.
We apparently have less of a connection to the value of hard work than any generation before us. To make matters worse, we’ve been born into families that have also lost a bit of their connection with this value. As a result, we wake up every morning with breakfast on the table, a huge TV with video games, and a car in the garage… none of which we had to lift a finger to receive. So not only are we detached from the value of hard work – we’re also detached from hard work! We – they say – wake up in the morning feeling entitled to all we have, feeling like we deserve the world. Now, it’s easy to jump up in defense and yell about the injustices of such a label. It’s easy because it’s not true of everybody. Some people have parents who have held their values firmly in place, and some simply have a healthy enough worldview in place to defy such a stereotype. Nevertheless it stands, and we might as well realize that it is pretty accurate, by and large. Just look around you… the media, the polls, the stats.
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So what am I getting at? Well, I and several others around me see from a unique vantage point. Anyone can see in the workforce and in our colleges and other institutions how this stereotype can play out in society. But I see from a church vantage point. I see how individualistic we’ve become. I see how far apart from each other we sit in our services. And I’ve seen how hard it is to get a commitment out of anyone. I don’t know if it’s merely a perspective that needs to be spoken to, or if the individual needs to feel more validated in – or informed about – their potential. I don’t know if the recent recession in our area has people afraid to give their resources, afraid of another “depression”. I don’t know if the breakdown of the average family in America is contributing to a similar breakdown in our church family. I don’t know any of those things for sure. I have my opinions, but I don’t have the answers.
What I do know is that this Jesus we worship and speak of so fondly – this same Jesus is calling us to something more. This man spoke hard, unsettling words to the political and religious establishments of his day, unafraid of the repercussions. This man was vocal with – perhaps even furious with – pious and oppressive systems and individuals… not with the rest of the human race. This guy sat down and ate with strangers, and not just good looking, reputable strangers. Vagabonds. Ne’er do wells. Street urchins. Prostitutes. And he did all of it with a group of twelve dudes around him. He was never alone. He was wide open. He had no place to rest his head, and still knew more of living life to the full than any man in all of history. I’m sure there’s something we can learn from Him. Thoughts? Grace and Peace. -jc
