Why Every Generation Thinks the Next Is Doomed

What is wrong with kids these days? They just don't get it. Have you ever heard someone say something like that? Or maybe you even thought it yourself? Honestly, people used to say it about me when I was a young punk. And the funny thing is, now, I find myself thinking that about the kids.

It seems like we all tend to look down on the next generation as lazy, ungrateful, or not as enlightened as us. And maybe with good reason. It's easy to look at the young folks who will be in charge one day and feel a little concerned.

This idea that the generations coming after us aren't quite as great as us is nothing new. King Solomon talked about it in Ecclesiastes 2:17-21, when he said, 

So I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless—like chasing the wind.
I came to hate all my hard work here on earth, for I must leave to others everything I have earned. And who can tell whether my successors will be wise or foolish? Yet they will control everything I have gained by my skill and hard work under the sun. How meaningless! So I gave up in despair, questioning the value of all my hard work in this world.
Some people work wisely with knowledge and skill, then must leave the fruit of their efforts to someone who hasn’t worked for it. This, too, is meaningless, a great tragedy.

Ecclesiastes is a book about keeping life here under the sun in proper perspective. There's a good chance we'll work hard, build a great life for ourselves and our families, and then end up handing it off to a generation who just takes it all for granted. Sometimes, it's out of arrogance, thinking they're smarter than the people who came before them. And sometimes, it's out of ignorance. They don't know how hard it was to get things to this point. They might try to tear it all down with that arrogance or ignorance.

Sound depressing? It would be if this world weren't all we're living for. But we're living for something bigger than this life under the sun. We're living for eternity.

King Solomon concludes later in chapter 2 that there's nothing better for a person than to work hard, enjoy the life God gave us, and trust Him with the outcome. Ultimately, this whole world is His. We do our best with what we have, accomplish His purpose for us now, and trust that God controls what comes after.

And yes, He's even working in kids' hearts these days. May we not lose sight of the value of working hard to honor God and trust that He has a plan for the world and every generation. And that's a reason for great hope.

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