"Oh, well they're JUST kids..."

So tonight I was driving home from a young adult group i've been going to when I can, and had the radio on one of the local stations... The announcer lady was rambling about some situation that apparently has been on the news regarding a food fight that occurred at a school recently. She went on to talk about how it was unfair the way the school leaders handled it and how the punishment was a little silly... which from what I heard, I somewhat agree with. BUT, what really caught my attention was at the end of her rant how she closed out by saying... "You know what? It's not a big deal. They're JUST kids! I mean, they could be doing a whole lot worse!"


Um... "JUST kids"? And, they "could be doing a whole lot worse"???

Okay lady... great, thanks. So are you saying in other words you expect me to be doing drugs, sneaking around, having sex and being rebellious...? Because I mean, after all, "that's what kids do"... right?

See, the problem with kids today (wow, that sounded like something a grandparent would say ha) is that most adults have such low expectations for them that they never even see the potential they have inside of them! What's crazy is as much as this belittling mindset should make us young people upset and want to prove them wrong... We seem to have bought into it. We play along, using it as our excuse saying, "hey, they're right! we're 'just kids', so let's goof off and pretend what we do doesn't matter and we don't know any better! after all, they're the ones who said it!"

I confess.
I've used that excuse. You know why? Cause it was easy. It was a cop out. It justified my irrational, rebellious decisions and even sprinkled "blessing" on them because that's what the world expected! As much as I tried to convince myself that this mindset was normal and just the way things were... deep down, I knew it was wrong. I knew I was meant for more than this condescending compromise... but who was stepping out to say so?

1 Timothy 4:12 says, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you're young, but set an example for believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."

Dangg. That's a pretty high calling! It straight up calls us out on this exact topic saying "don't you dare think that just because you're young you can skate out of your important role by doing stupid things!" Snap.

While I'm frustrated by many adult's belittling mindset, i'm also frustrated with myself for buying into it. See, because we've bought into it, we feed their reasons for saying we're "just kids". Instead of proving them wrong... we live out their low expectations. Disastrously.

It's been said that you teach people how to treat you. In that case, we've got some work to do.
God specifically says that, as young people, we've got something AMAZING to offer right now... whatever age we are!

I say, it's time we prove their low expectations wrong.


5 comments:

  Anonymous

May 20, 2009 at 11:44 AM

So true, Paige. We could all have such a wide and positive impact if we decided "prove them wrong". Thank you so much for your ministry- you are such an encouragement!
<3Delia

  Caleb

May 21, 2009 at 5:02 AM

Have you ever heard of the Rebelution? It is a "teen age rebellion against low expectations." I found the book Do Hard Things by Brett and Alex Harris. It is an amazing example of what you said in this post. If you want to find out more about the Rebelution, you can go to http://therebelution.com/

Caleb
A Christian Teen

  Paige

May 23, 2009 at 8:18 PM

Delia: You're so right!! The world would look like such a different place if we took our stand and lived out what He has called us to. What are we waiting for? :]

Caleb: Yes! I've read their book, Do Hard Things and LOVED it! The message was right on and exactly what our generation needs to hear! Our job now is to be active in living it out!

Thank you for your kind words and encouragement. It's great to hear your feedback and thoughts... you always have great insights!! :]

And as for iShine pictures... I actually haven't been taking barely any so far this spring tour, but I'll take some these next few weekends and will be sure to post them!

<>< paige

  Caleb

May 24, 2009 at 6:05 AM

Thanks, Paige. I can't wait to see the pictures. I wish that our town could have been a part of it this spring, but apparently God had other plans. We have a new Pastor now. We voted him in at the beggining of the month. God has already used him to heal people. With him just getting started here, I can't wait to see what God has planned for the future. Hopefully iShine will get to come here during the next tour. That is if it falls in line with what God is doing now or getting ready to do here.

Gotta go get ready for Church.

Caleb

  Caleb

November 21, 2009 at 8:33 AM

I decided to read some of your old posts. It is amazing how much they still impact me. This post inspire me every time I read it. Too many teens are settling in with the low expectations, but I am not about to let my life go down the drain because other people hold lower expectations on me than I do.