Photo credit: Sheknows.com
"What is there to live for?" "I don't have anything." "My life is empty." These are words too often said today. It seems as though each year, more and more people suffer from depression to the point that most people I encounter at work are on some form of psychiatric medication. What happened? Why have we gone into an age of depression and psychiatric problems? I believe there are more than one factor to all of this, but with the upcoming generation, I am starting to see a pattern.
We live in a world of "me". Why didn't people hardly suffer with depression, even a hundred years ago? In our schools, kids are coddled and told they can do anything and be anything. They are taught that they are something special. Self-esteem is the center of persons well-being and if your self-esteem isn't high, something must be wrong. Someone is given a trophy for participation, but when he gets fired from work for not doing their job, it must be the boss's or company's fault. We are raising a generation of entitled snowflakes who are taught that they can have anything and that the world owes them something, when in fact, the opposite is the truth.
Another factor I see in the pandemic of depression is over-stimulation. With TV, video games, sports, instant gratification, and pressure for teenagers (and even preteens) to experience it all while in school, they are bored by time graduation comes. With our youth group, it seems that the kids are pressured to be involved in everything at school, even on Sundays. And "college is the best years of your life, live it up." By time these people reach 20, they have lived the life of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. All of the pleasures of this life, they try to cram in their short time as a teenager as if there is no life after high school. Then when they reach adulthood, boredom sets in. What else is there to look forward to? Why look forward to sex when married when you can have it now and experience sexual exposure by simply watching commercials on TV.
With a generation of bored, coddled snowflakes, it's no wonder things like depression, anxiety, and ADHD are rampant. As Christians, we have everything to look forward to. We know we have a home in Heaven and rewards for the work we do here. We should never be bored with the amount of work God has for us. We should never grow weary with a satisfying relationship with God. We are told throughout the Bible how much we are loved by God, even to death on the cross. But we should not let that lead us to believing God will give us everything or an easy, stress-free life. God promises us joy and peace when we are content in him and follow in his will, but he does not promise that we will always feel good about ourselves or that he will always be vocal in our lives. That is when we need to wait on the Lord, pray, and trust in him. God will give us peace and satisfaction when we look to him. God has blessed each of us, we just need to look to him and what he has given us.
