Growth

It has been said that whoever wants the next generation the most will get them.

Who wants them?

The world today is full of advertisements aimed at young people, and meant specifically to attract their attention. According to Matthew 6:21 in the God's Word translation of the Bible,

"Your heart will be where your treasure is."

The hearts of America's young people are dangerously focused on commercialized things. Instead of caring about starving people, they are instead drawn to the latest in IPOD technology. Why contribute to an organization to feed kids they don't even know when they can have the latest tunes on a touch screen with massive storage and video capabilities?

Youth are not without hearts. They are not bereft of compassion. However, their focus is being turned away from fruitful tasks, and turned toward shallow and self-seeking things.

Portable music devices are not evil, neither are the people who manufacture them. Anything, however, can become a distraction, and with the whole of media attacking them, who can blame these young impressionable minds for being led astray?

The Bible also says in Proverbs 22:6,

"Train a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old he will not turn away from it."

How are the parents of America training their children? WHO is training America's children? If the world begins to take on the role of the parents the result will be disastrous. Instead of people with compassion, the world will soon see selfish drones, who live only to get more for themselves. Instead of hardworking citizens, our country will be made of lazy people, who live on welfare, because they think they are entitled to it.

The youth of this nation have the potential to be great- to make a positive difference in the world. The older citizens have an obligation to give these young people enough respect to teach them to be valuable members of society.

No, the youth of today are not lost, but, sadly, they are almost forgotten. Let the adults...