When life doesn’t go as planned, your reaction says a lot about what you truly believe! Crossings Program Director Joe Ball shares his thoughts on the importance of demonstrating truth to youth.
“It’ll be okay.” “I got it covered.” “I got it taken care of.” Haven’t we heard these statements over and over and over?
I used all of these phrases with my mom and dad several times while growing up. Most of the time, I meant it. But sometimes, I am not sure who I was trying to convince most — my parents or myself.
Today’s students need to see that we know everything is really going to be okay because God has total control. We do a good job of teaching this to young people, but do we live it? When things get tough or don’t go as planned, do we demonstrate this truth through our words and actions? We can point students to the fact that God has it under control, that He has it covered, and that it will be okay because “all things work together for the good of those who love Him” (Romans 8:28).
But we can also lead students away from that truth. If I had to judge only by observations and conversations with other adults, I would say most are on the verge of panic when met with major life changes. Meanwhile, our students are watching to determine if we live out what we say is true.
Honestly, our students watch everything we say and do. It has always been said of teenagers that they have a built-in hypocrite meter. I think this may be truer than ever of this generation of teens. May our lives always be consistent with our teaching!