THE STRUGGLE IS REAL!
- Feb 29, 2016
- 5 min read
Young Adults, THE STRUGGLE IS REAL
The struggle is real! How do we practice holiness (1 Peter 1:16) when we're confronted with sin every second of our lives? We try to live right, but holiness is easier said than done. How does the young adult maintain a sense of purity and sexual wholeness when we are constantly bombarded with explicit imagery in magazines, lewd photos on social media and addicting shows like “Empire, How to get away with Murder, or Orange is the New Black?” I know it's wrong for us to watch because of language, sexual exploitation and evil spirited nature, but the drama and dysfunction are so provocative and attractive. Why can't we Netflix and chill and like Musiq Soulchild says, be buddies? The bible says that fornication is wrong (1 Corinthians 6:18-20) but why would I buy a car without a test drive? I need to see what I'm getting into right?
There's nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Trickin', twerking, boo lovin' and sexual healin' is not new. The only difference is that the generation x, y and millennial (new school) share their excursions and escapades on social media. While the baby boomers (old school) did their dirt with the lights off, the new school decided to simply turn the lights on. Instead of condemnation and judgment with planks in the eye, the seasoned saints ought to have compassion, loving correction and transparency. After all, the apple does not fall to far from the tree. Young adults who once were children watched the good and poor behavior of the adults who now are the seasoned saints. W.E.B. DuBois said, “Children learn more from what you are than what you teach!” Young adults are teachable when there is commonality, relationship and honesty. The struggle is real for everyone.
The struggle is real.... Is one gay if they are attracted to the same sex? I mean, can't a man acknowledge the swag and coolness of a Brad Pitt or Denzel without wanting them physically? Can a woman find another woman beautiful and compliment her on their physique without desiring a booty call?
The struggle is real. Some of us want to be happy for other people's success, but we can't help but think that we are more qualified to get that promotion, recognition, or raise. Jealousy, bitterness, and resentment could be in our hearts, but we've learned how to hide it. Now we find ourselves ear hustling by listening to other people's conversations because their lives seems more interesting than ours. It's like I'm all in the Kool Aid but I don't know the flavor. Oh God, teach us how to mind my own business and be content with where we are! Teach us that you operate in seasons and our season may not have come yet. In other words, there is a time for sowing and a time for reaping. We cannot reap what we have not sown. If we have sown, it may not be the right season to reap. Teach us how to be patient with your process. Our harvest is coming!
The struggle is real. Many want to pay their tithes, but can't seem to give God what He deserves. It’s not that young adults want to rob God, but every time we get paid on Friday, our money is gone by Saturday. Bill won't get off my back! The light bill, telephone bill, cable bill, gas bill, credit card bill, car bill, insurance bill and so on and so on. SMH (shaking my head); it’s not easy separating wants from needs.
The struggle is real! Though I am grown with my own grown issues and responsibilities, the expectations of my parents are that I drop what's important to me in order to pick up what's important to them. Don't they realize that I have a life?
The struggle is real, but so is the God in you. We must remember that Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). We all can do a better job feeding our spirit-man with the word of God, psalms, and Christian fellowship.
The struggle is real, but so is God’s grace. His grace is sufficient for us (2 Corinthians 12:9). In our weakness, He is made strong. Our goal should always be to please Him with how we live, share the gospel and service. Let's not become complacent or lazy in our ambition to make God happy. If that means turning off the TV, then do it. If that means abstaining from social media and staying away from people who do not share our Christian values, then so be it.
Every human being has two lions warring with each other (Native American Legends). One lion is of the spirit while the other is of carnality and the flesh. The question is, "Which lion are you going to feed?" If one fed both, then the war will never cease. However, if the lion of the spirit is fed, then the latter shall be starved. If the carnal lion doesn't have sustenance, then eventually it will die. The problem that many of us have is that we don't want to kill either lion?
Like Rahab (Joshua 2), God allows us to come as we are regardless of our imperfections, brokenness and sexual indiscretions. However, the good news is that He won't leave us in the same place He found us. As long as we are willing, He takes our mistake and turn it into a miracle. He can turn it around for His glory!
Yes the struggle is real, but so is His love for you! God provides a love that the world and all its lustful pleasures can't give. Let's not lose our sense of who we are by getting caught up in the temporary disillusionment of novelties, nobodies and naughty behaviors. Let's hold true to our values and embrace the ethics that have helped us to be who we are. We are a child of God; fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139) with God's love.
The struggle is real but so is God’s plan for you. What God has for you is for you! Don't allow the temporary pleasure to derail or distract you from the eternal promise.
The more time we focus on other people's drama the less time we spend in cultivating the dream that God gave us. Our attention is on the wrong thing! Booker T. Washington said that in order to keep a man down, you got to stay down there with him. Let’s not act shady or jealous toward those who have figured out how to make their dreams come true. Instead, let's believe that we can do all things through Christ (Philippians 4:13) and make it happen. Let's grind (work hard) and make it do what it do!
Reference
A quote by W.E.B. Du Bois. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2016, from http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/74568-children-learn-more-from-what-you-are-than-what-you Native American Legends. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2016, from http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/TwoWolves-Cherokee.html
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