The World's Bait-And-Switch

They sat stiffly, eyes never meeting, pain etched on tear-stained faces. Disillusionment. Confusion. Despair.

Never married, but sharing a toddler they both loved. Moving in and out of each other's lives. Affairs on the side. Lashing out. Getting even. Sexting others. Lying.

They were the poster children of this generation.

"You can make your own rules," they are told from infancy on. Their instructors are the public education system, Hollywood, and People magazine. And they learn quickly, putting it all into practice the moment puberty hits.

By 21 they are used up, strung out, and angry.

Why didn't it work? I did everything I wanted to do when I wanted to do it. And now here we sit, our lives already mapped out for us by our own choices and it looks nothing like the movies.

There is a stoplight--several, actually--that I really don't like. It is slow to turn green and placed in an aggravating intersection that I would rather zip through. According to the current philosophy, I should be able to make my own rules. If I don't like that light, I shouldn't have to adhere to it. You can't tell me what is right for me. I won't hit anybody. Probably.

There is also a Posted: Keep Out sign on my road, a few feet from a drop-off. But what if I decided that sign was a bit to moralistic for me and I should decide for myself whether or not to keep driving?

We all instinctively understand physical laws and why they are important--regardless of whether we like or agree with them. But when it comes to morality, we stiffen up. God's laws are viewed as stuffy and old-fashioned, designed to force us into a mold. Common sense and values are thrown out the window. Kids plunge into these boundary-less relationships with no pilot at the wheel. Their brokenness follows them as they raise their illegitimate children-- the ones who truly pay the price. By puberty, those children have learned their lessons well and they continue the cycle.

Take a long look at the couple in the photo above. Are they the picture of unbridled freedom?

The world pulls the old bait-and-switch. It advertises a celebrity life of wanton pleasure and delivers a trailer in the ghetto with unpaid bills. My newest clients are just two of millions who've been duped by the ads.

Thankfully, they each gave their lives to Christ last week. Their problems are not over, but they have each aligned themselves with the only One who knows how to make a mosaic out of shattered hearts.

The warning signs are there and if we heed them, we save ourselves untold heartache. We also develop character--a word quickly becoming obsolete. Patience, respect, self-control, and delayed gratification are worth developing, but in this microwave culture they take too long and deny me what I want in the moment.

America's motto of "Give me what I want right now!" is costing us more than we have. When will we learn?
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