How Our Children Are Being Formed in the 21st Century

Nena Arias | October 19, 2020

It is common knowledge that children learn more by example than any other means. Thus, the meaning of the proverb, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”. A child grows up to be similar to its parents, both in behavior and in physical characteristics.

If we want to know how a home is run and what really goes on in the family just take some time to dialogue with a child from that home and you will discover what the child is learning by the example that is being lived out right before their eyes to follow. The saying above by Charles de Montesquieu says it very clearly that, for the most part, children don’t spoil on their own until they learn it from someone else.

Failing to teach children good principles in all areas of life will cause children to grow lopsided and create a worldview that will fail them every time, unless, once they are adults or of accountable age, they work hard to change the warped value system they were taught. This is what happens if we fail to diligently teach our children and grandchildren tried and true principles, which can only be found in the Bible. God’s wisdom is superior. Sadly, we are living at a time when everything that holds people and societies together is being discredited and attacked, and our society is reflecting this, especially the children and young people. Those of the liberal mindset, who do not value God or his principles, run the cities, and the result has been a disaster.

If there is something that America was known for in the world is principle. But as of approximately 75 years ago conservative Christians, who were and still are the majority in this country, didn’t pay much attention to our founding principles that started to be heavily attacked and the tide of what was once a Christian nation began to shift significantly in a wrong direction. Once the foundation is compromised, it’s just a matter of time that a collapse will happen. Like the Psalmist said in 11:3, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

In America, there came a major shift after WWII. The generations after WWII have grown up gradually in a culture that offers them more and more material abundance than the previous generations and less and less moral values. It is well-known that the baby boomers, and their children, are the most spoiled, most self-centered, most narcissistic generation the country has ever produced. The baby boomers are people who were born between 1946 and 1964. During this time a massive increase in births followed World War II. The baby boomer generation makes up nearly 20% of the American public. So, we are not talking about just a few people here.

The baby boomers developed strong characteristics brought on by the war such as self-assurance, very competitive, goal-oriented, resourceful, mentally focused and disciplined. All of this sounds very good, but the most important things were left out of their priorities, the home life was neglected without proper nurturing and close supervision in child-rearing and God was put on the shelf. The children had more material things but less of the parents and especially less of God. Priorities changed and both parents were too busy working and spending long hours away from home and the children. The divorce rate increased, homes split up and this started a domino effect of destruction of the moral fiber in the nation.

The result is children grew up in a cocoon away from the real culture, social media is now their favorite pastime, expensive vacations are a must, television, computers and video games isolate the family members from each other, they search out all the entertainment and thrills they can find yet feel emptier than ever. They seem to NOT want to pursue greater qualities like godly living, sacrificial kindness and service and justice. Selfishness, and an entitlement mentality with less gratitude for what they do have rules their thoughts.

In the 37 indicators of a civilization headed for a fall, the number one observation is that: It becomes too soft, too luxurious, and too successful, which produces lazy offspring due to overindulgence. Need I say more?

At this time, the harsh reality is that without amending this disastrous course, it is possible these kids, with a deeply engrained entitlement mentality, will eventually move to destroy the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Republic; and this is already in motion and destroying the nation. This cycle repeats itself in history, which is why God in the Bible refers to the “third and fourth” generations of consequences when he has to bring sanctions on generational sins.

So far, these generations with the entitlement mentality, for the most part, are standing idly by and watching protesters tear down monuments of people and events that past generations felt were important to preserve for posterity. The same is true of any symbol in public property or buildings having to do with Christianity. We are already seeing the spiritual and historical heritage of this country literally torn down and labeled as racist, as bigoted, corrupt, and irrelevant to the character of America. In other words, America is being remade into something unrecognizable and being made to look like all the nations and civilizations that have utterly failed whose demise is recorded in world history.

We have created this generation of out-of-control ingrates. Now what do we do about it? It really is very simple, we get back to basics all over again and patiently raise the next generations to love God, family and country. Let us teach our children that, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” (Proverbs 9:10).

Let us become the example that children need to see and learn life properly.