The Toddler Generation


I have a cousin who is a about 16 months old. She is a spirited one, and her personality and spunk is growing by the day. She is what you would call a toddler.

 Toddlers are a lot of fun. They are bundles of energy that are discovering the world and learning to talk. They also want to touch stoves, fireplaces and everything that is not in their best interest to touch. And when the toddler is not allowed access to the object of their desire--the toddler cries. It is not wrong that they cry, it is just what toddlers do.

 There is a problem, however, if the toddler stays a toddler; if the kid never grows up.  Temperamental children are cute at 16 months. 20 year olds in diapers are not so cute.

 Modern America has raised a generation (my generation) of toddlers. A generation where everyone is in a state of hyper sensitivity towards anything that threatens their toys. Speak against my "sexuality" and you are mocked as a homophobe. Challenge my lifestyle and you are derided as an intolerant bigot. Hurt my feelings and I will call you an "oppressor." And then I will cry.

I ran across this statement from Oklahoma Wesleyan University president, Everett Piper, in a response to a student who felt "victimized" by a sermon on 1 Corinthians 13, which is about love. How anyone can feel victimized by a sermon on 1 Corinthians 13 is beyond me--but in today's day and age I am really not surprised. The "victim" said that the sermon made him "feel bad" for not showing love.

Maybe part of the problem is that we (my generation) grew up being told to follow our hearts. To chase our dreams and to be whatever we wanted to be. We feel entitled. We tell ourselves that we are going to live how we want to live and if anyone is going to tell us "No!" we will cry. The sad reality is that we have become, or maybe we have remained: toddlers. We have never grown up and realized that the world is not about us.

 We have become what the Bible warned we would become: lovers of self. Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God (2 Timothy 3:3). Narcissistic, sad little creatures who care only about themselves, their desires, and their feelings. There is no longer an understanding of higher morality of right and wrong. We have supplanted the righteous standards of God and have put in His place the god of ME. This is the height of human depravity. 

 There are worse things than being offended and feeling bad. There are worse things then having your ideas challenged. The truth hurts. A judgment is coming and it will actually be offensive. May we not wait until then to humble ourselves.

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