Taking Things for Granted

When you find yourself not thanking God, you will find yourself taking things for granted. 

Today we find ourselves so complacent that the small things are expected, we don't understand where things come from, we just expect them to show up. Yet in all of this God still provides, and sometimes I would think he feels taken for granted... In everything we do we can find a reason to thank God, whether its a positive situation or a negative situation, there is always something to be thankful for. However, it is something that is our decision. Every day we wake up, many of us dreading having to face our problems, yet taking for granted that Christ was bruised, he was beaten nearly to death, hung on a cross, and laid in the ground for our sins. Jesus did not want to die, but he knew that he must drink of that cup, and so he did, for you and for me. And because of that we should wake up thankful, we should thank God for his Son, for the small things he has provided us, and for the small things others have done for us. 

ScaryStats

As many of you know, I'm sure, our generation has become reliant and revolving around technology. Here are just a few of the true, and scary stats involving technology and the internet. 

The average age of first internet exposure to pornography is 11 years old. 

90% of 8-16 year old's have viewed porn online.

Americans ages 13-18 spend more than 72 hours a week using electronic media - defined as the internet, cell phones, television, music, and video games.

80% of 15-17 year old's have had multiple hard-core exposures. 

The Church

For centuries the church has been a place of security, a place of refuge. However, today it has become a place of hurt, pain, and jealousy. Our churches are no longer willing to get down and dirty to address the truth, the facts. The truth is this: we live in a world that revolves around adult entertainment. Our culture is consumed with sex, drugs, and alcohol, all subjects that the "church" is afraid to address. Because of this, I am not surprised by the shocking statistics concerning christian youth and youth in general. As Christians we cannot be afraid to get down and dirty, we have to remember that discipleship includes everyone, and that as Christians it is our responsibility to witness to others, even if that means branching away from the "conventional" methods of sharing the gospel.

A Preview

I realize now that life was never meant to be easy, even though God provided things for our enjoyment…nothing about our time here on earth is meant to be permanent. Before I didn’t want to accept that fact, I was living in my own world, where I was god. I was convinced that life was all about me, all about what I wanted and what made me feel good, or fulfilled. But now I see that it is so much more than that, it is so much bigger than me, or anything I will ever do. My sole purpose on this earth is to serve God, but who said that we can’t serve God and enjoy what he has given us? To many times we try and say that we can’t have both, that on order to be truly of God one has to live a life of “solitude” of sorts. However, nowhere in the bible does it say that, in fact, it says the opposite. 

We have to realize that we live in a world of literals, of tangible things, and in order to survive we must take God’s word literally. We are no longer allowed the luxury of a decent society; everywhere we turn we are faced with some form of sin. I am not here to condemn and tell you that we are all going to hell, I am just putting it out there as it is, the literal version, the version that we have to live by in order to achieve our purpose in our short life on earth.

As a current college student I have been in the thick of my rising generation’s debates, from abortion, gay marriage, religion, politics, the economy, and even to the environment, I have witnessed all different sides. This has shown me that our country’s weakness is my generation, and the coming generations. Our college students are weak, colleges provide an outlet for expression and individuality that has been manipulated as a venue for propaganda and brainwashing, not from any particular group or organization but as a whole, and because of that we must begin equipping our kids with the tools and weapons to withstand those attacks. Not your typical methods that have been tried in the past, but something different, something radical, something that cannot be changed or shook. We live in a world that desires change, one that demands change, so let us give it to them. Let us change our methods, let us give them a revolutionized version of thinking, and let us equip them with the sword of the spirit, with the weapons of Christ. We are more than conquerors through Christ, and nothing can separate us from his love (Romans 8), so let us take that literally.

            The truth is that our world sucks, and all we can do is change it one person at a time, but if everyone sets out with the goal of changing just one person, then that is how we change the world. Our generation has to be revolutionized, we must be changed, and the more of us that stand together, the easier that change is.