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Are we really building the future?
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By: Balbir K. Punj
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Article published on 1/31/2009 1:18:15 AM IST
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There is no doubt that our problems are a topic of interest in every discussion and discourse. In fact, our problems sighed away because they have become mundane and clichéd. Many along the way have given up hope of progress.
The problems that have become all encompassing and more pronounced over the years confirm the loss of our core values and the principles that the present was built on. It is imperative that we desire and seek change.
It is imperative that we discuss and bring about ideas for change that are a departure from the old formula and along newer lines. Even if that change means going back to the core values that we once held so dear.
The blinding effect of the speed at which the world moves today has the tendency to carry people away and the youth is most vulnerable.
The influence of television and the internet on the young people has also taken a dangerous, if unintended, path. Hollywood morals have caught up with the youth and it is clearly visible that choices are changing. While we are becoming bolder in asserting our choices and decisions, we see no wrong in making wrong choices and that is scary.
This is the outcome of the gradual smudging of the line between good and bad, between the right and wrong taught to us by the generations before us. Who rubbed those lines? We all did. In a time when the truth is relative for many and there are no absolutes, it is imperative for the society as a whole to look inward and ask the question, “Are we really building the future?”
The Bible is unequivocal in saying: unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. This great land took a leap to progress after the missionaries brought the name of Jesus Christ. Outsiders get ecstatic at the mention of this land and the people in it being of Christian majority.
It is saddening that the truth presents a different picture. This is because we have abandoned what we learned for what we desire and in the process given up the right and wrong of things.
When the quest took on an individual turn, the collective responsibility was discarded and the downfall began. One man couldn’t correct another because a similar deal was cut for him. It is no wonder that there are so many individuals today who have amassed a huge amount of wealth which wouldn’t have been possible with their normal stream of income. Everyone on the street has something to say about the way corruption has become so entrenched in the society. Everyone knows.
This has been coupled with the age old issue of sovereignty and issues with the underground factions. The generation of tomorrow is being brought up and ‘educated’ in this atmosphere of animosity, hatred and the love of money and material pleasures. What kind of place will the youth inherit when the elders, who are supposed to be examples, hand over the reins? It is only natural that the young follow suit and ‘progress’ towards the opposite end. Who then is building our house? Like the beginning of any revolution, ideas must emerge and action must follow. The onus is on the people – the hope and the will to change and make a difference.
After all, we are called to be a community and it was always meant to be ‘us’. History tells us of collective actions that spurred changes and we must do the same.
Young people have a stake in the future and they must be agents of change. Working professionals and entrepreneurs who are like minded must come together and brainstorm. The collective net worth of such people will carry weight and will become important. Ideas must come and take form if we want to stop talking and whining. Networks with like minded people and with the civil society can be a potent agent of change from the status quo. Clearly, the departure is from individual hoarding and a return to collective responsibility.
The point of origin for all this must of course be a return to the core Christian values that are found in the Bible. It is the only answer and the only solution from which all other solutions will emerge.
This means a full commitment to read, listen, learn, and obey and not only service the Sundays. It also means that until and unless we are ready to give of ourselves completely, we will forever remain individuals with only a history and without a future. The present generation is enjoying the blessings and fruits of the past generation, will the future generation enjoy the fruit of the present?
There are many who would raise voices and point to the enormous amount of good that is present. They would be right. It is the only reason why we still think alike on so many of these issues and still believe in our conscience.
But times are changing and people are too. The indifference and restlessness of the youth of today point to deeper issues that also feed off from the lack of role models in the society.
It is evident that without the Lord Jesus, we do build in vain.
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