Teenagers have seen the great highs and lows of our world play out in real time. They unconsciously know qualifiers like social media appearances, gaining followers, or going viral are intangible and fleeting, but the burden falls on older adults to remind them—to model for them—that building relationships takes intentionality, personal investment, and face-to-face communication. And, indeed, they’re worthy of that investment!
As we model “old-school” communication, like sitting with them at the kitchen table over a weeknight dinner, I’m convinced it will also benefit older generations. In our world of divisive politics and polarizing social stances, we all need to do a better job of locking eyes and spending time with one another in an effort to demonstrate each other’s worth and importance.
So, where do we go from here?
I am convinced of this. If we continue to allow the teens and young adults in our midst to attribute their worthiness to a like, a view, or a follow, we will continue to see the trajectory of their felt worthiness slide in the wrong direction. However, if we can do what they’ve asked us to do—put down our phones, look up, and invest our time in the young people God brings to our doorstep—we just might reaffirm for this and future generations what it means to be worthy of the love beyond any fleeting praise that this world might offer.
