The Bottom Line, Ministries Christian News, Articles, & Poetry 
Most of you have probably heard the saying, “Be a city on a hill.” You can be a light or beacon shining truth, peace, security, and hope, to a culture that is going through tremendous upheaval morally, economically, and politically. The younger generation needs to have an anchor of values more than ever. The older generation knows that the world is not the same as the one they grew up in, with terrorism, shootings, lack of morality, unwed mothers, family’s without fathers, abortion, transgenderism, legalized gay marriage, rampant shoplifting, and a host of other problems. There has been a breakdown in the elements that make a great society. Seniors can share how life used to be, and why.
None of us over 50 had all the electronics, conveniences, and social media that exists today. There were no call phones, internet, microwave ovens, or color televisions (only black and white). But people got along just fine. Yes, there was tremendous benefit from living a simple life with values of honesty, respect for authority, face-to-face conversation, and just having fun combined with discipline and common sense.
Seniors can help reshape the values of the next generation by showing the younger how life can be lived without having a lot of things. They can be shown that real living is much more meaningful when one learns to enjoy people more than possessions. Help them see that relationships, and character are much more important than having all the latest electronic devices. Bring some stability to their lives not dependent upon the culture.
Social media has pretty much taken over young minds. It has affected their thinking, their relationships, and even their actions. There are those who carry their cell phones in their hand every single minute, and it has completely replaced interaction with an actual person. Hours and hours a day are spent on Facebook and other forms of “entertainment.”
Spend an evening with one of your grandkids. Tell them you want to spend some time together with one condition – no cell phone, TV, or other electronic device. See how they respond. Use the time to talk, play board games, or share a hobby with them. Throw out some suggestions that interest them. Explain how you spent your evenings growing up, that it was time well spent enjoying one another. Share a story from your life. Learn something new about them. Make it a time that they might go away realizing the value of just being together without all of the distractions and entertainment to which they have become accustomed. Help them see that it is not the quantity of friends that matters, but the quality of real friendships with others who really care about them, and would be there for them in a time of great need.
Call up your grandkids on a regular basis just to talk. Find out how their week, or month, has gone. How are they doing in school? Is there anything new and exciting happening in their life? This will mean more to them than all of their “interactions” on social media.
The older generation can also be a source of spiritual strength. Many younger people have forsaken their religious beliefs with which they grew up. Share with them how you have seen God at work in your life over all your years.
Psalm 145:4 One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts
