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Millennials and Our Priorities

Millennials.

Much proverbial ink has been spilled bemoaning our well-documented flaws, but that's not what I'm here to do.

I'm not here to predict the demise of our culture because of a generation that refuses to do anything but listen to "music" and drink craft beer.

I am not here to talk about how all of society's problems are blamed on us despite the fact that these issues have existed throughout the history of mankind and are simply exacerbated/more noticeable due in the age of technology.

I'm not here to talk about how our parents' and grandparents' generations laid the foundation for our licentious, hedonistic lifestyle.

I am here, however, to say that we Millennials need to reevaluate our priorities.

So, fellow Millennial, what is important to you?

In an age where our open eyes are rarely off of a screen, what is truly important to you?

In a culture that rarely stops to think deeply about anything, what holds value for you?

Moreover, what does your lifestyle communicate about your priorities?  If it is true that we demonstrate that we value something by the time we are willing to dedicate to it, and I believe it is, what does our use of time communicate about our priorities?  We might say that we have overcome the frivolity of previous generations, but do our habits decry this claim?

For those of us Millennials who are parents, these questions are particularly important.  Everything that we do, and don't do, communicates something to our children.  We communicate our priorities to the next generation every day without even thinking about it.  Do not be fooled--our children know what is really important to us--what we really love.  What do they see when they watch us?   

As a generation we have expressed discontent with the lifestyles and priorities of our parents, but have we arrived at anything more concrete?  We're fed up with the inanity of the 9-to-5-until-you-die, but with what have we replaced it?  We want to live life and experience experiences, but are we living for anything more than pleasure and self-advancement?

Think about the topics that dominate social media: sports (guilty), travel, fashion, entertainment, etc.  Meanwhile our religion and politics are only meme-deep.

What are we teaching our children to value when we dress them up like hipsters and point a camera at them all the time?

What lessons are they imbibing when we spend more time watching movies than reading books or helping others?

What are we saying when we invest more time and energy into our home decor than we do our souls?

What are we telling our children when we spend more time scrolling through our phones than playing with them?

These are tough questions, but asking them is essential to the spiritual health of the next generation.  If we are not honest with ourselves, our children's lives may reveal our true answers to these questions.

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