Editorial July 25, 1994 Issue

"Generation X"—challenging the notion of life without purpose

William E. Moody

Young people in the 1990s—those in their twenties—are sometimes classified as "Generation X." And the descriptions of what they tend to anticipate from life are generally not very hopeful. Reasons put forward for this widespread despair point to a number of problems without easy solutions. An article in The Christian Science Monitor noted, for example, that those entering the job market today "believe they have inherited a future of diminished expectations and declining fortunes." They are, the Monitor comments, "the first generation to grow up in families where a majority of parents both work ..." and also "to be widely affected by staggeringly high parental divorce rates..." (March 24, 1994). Most telling, perhaps, is the claim by writer Douglas Coupland, who wrote the book Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture in 1991, that, as a group, this is "the first generation raised without religion" (The Boston Globe, March 16, 1994).

It's worth considering that if a lack of religious education or a failure to provide religious values may be a primary cause for the gloom and frustration many young people feel, an important component in addressing the problem might well be a return to a more God-centered and God-directed way of living.

If you're in your twenties today—or at any stage—searching for a sense of purpose and for the opportunity to do something truly worthwhile and productive with your life, give some thought to the real meaning and potential of service. Bob Dylan once sang that we all have "to serve somebody." Dylan implied, too, that we have a choice about whom or what we serve. And one of the most basic themes of Christianity, from the first days of the ministry of Christ Jesus and his disciples, is the idea that serving God—and serving our fellowman through our service to God—is the only way to be genuinely satisfied with our lives. We each can take a thoughtful look at our individual talents, skills, and qualities, and then seek how best to put those in service, unselfishly and honestly, both to glorify God and to help others.

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