Gen Y, the young adults of today seem to be the most connected of any age group in our community. Through their addiction to social media and online relationships, it seems that they should never feel alone. Yet according to the Relationships Indicator Survey 2011, thirty percent of Australians, aged 25 to 34, told the survey they were frequently lonely – far more than any other age group. The second most lonely were the young adults, aged 18-25. Nineteen percent of them were frequently lonely. So why would this be the case?

Melbourne University philosopher, Damon Young says Generation Y is lonelier because people don’t know how to be alone. Young reflects on the results, saying “people who are constantly connected electronically find being alone very difficult.”

All this reminds us that we were created for relationships. It is recorded in Genesis that God recognised that loneliness was not good for Adam, and thousands of years and generations later, nothing has changed.

26 January 2012

How do we respond to such an avalanche of information? While some people spend time in further study and thought, and weigh up an informed response, a worrying number of people have a very different attitude and it’s wrapped up in one word … whatever!

It’s a great word isn’t it? Whatever! It has found a special place in our vocabulary. The world economy is in trouble…whatever! The weather patterns are challenging…whatever!

It’s a word that demonstrates a dismissive and aloof attitude. It says, don’t bother me with the news or the facts, I don’t care…whatever!

We can treat issues about faith and belief in the same way. Is there a God? Is there an eternity? We can either take the time to think through these issues or just be delightfully dismissive and remain naive. We can think about things deeply or…whatever!

19 January 2012

It is intriguing to see the slogans used to recruit people for the army during World War II. Britain used the slogans: “The Empire needs men!” and “Who’s absent? Is it you?” The classic American poster is the quintessential Uncle Sam finger pointing with the words “I want you for the US Army.” The posters are all about call, service and sacrifice.Today’s ads for the Armed Services are about what you will get in return or the experience you will have. It’s about becoming strong and gaining personal growth. The Armed Services recognise that to recruit anyone today you have to focus on what gets the results, what’s in it for the individual.

Sadly we can reduce following Jesus to the same style recruiting slogans. Come to Jesus – it will be good for you! Perhaps it would be better to remind people of the peace of God and call to obedience. Not very popular but certainly more accurate.

17 January 2012

The satellite empowered Global Positioning System or GPS has meant that it is simple to know where you are on the face of the globe. For sailors 200 years ago though, it was an incredibly difficult task.

To know where they were on a vast ocean they had to have a fixed point of reference. At that time they used the North Star or the Pole Star as their point of reference. By getting a reading of where they were in relation to the North Star, they could determine their position.

There are many people who are lost today but it has nothing to do with geography but rather society. We have enormous freedom. Our moral codes have been stretched so that almost anything is acceptable. What we’ve lost is a point of reference. How do we make sense of life? What is right? How should I live?

Can I encourage you to go to Jesus as your point of reference? I believe God created you and can give you a fixed point from which to discover meaning in life and hope for the future.
6 January 2012

Every parent is impacted by how their children perform. When our kids do well we feel positive, when they struggle it’s difficult. As parents we need to be on our guard against living our lives through our children.

A legal case in France demonstrated how this can be taken to absurd lengths. Christophe Fauviau, a father of two aspiring tennis players had taken to spiking the drinks of his children’s opponents. He did this with 27 separate individuals. The tragedy is that one of the players whose drinks was tampered with died in a car accident later that day, seemingly as a result of the spiked drink. When Fauviau was asked why he did this he replied “I felt I was permanently being judged by my children’s performances.”

This is another example of trying to bolster our confidence by performance, both our own and our children, to make us feel worthwhile.

You are worthwhile because you were created unique, loved as a child and nurtured by God. Grasping this truth may help take the pressure off you and your children.
31 August 2011

An international study conducted by the University of Western Sydney has revealed that the divorce rate in Australia has dropped for the first time in twenty years.The research highlighted three trends: Australians are getting married more often, staying married longer and getting divorced less frequently.

This seems to point to a new attitude to marriage and relationships. It seems that the childhood experiences of the current generation who suffered through their parents divorce has led to a greater commitment to making their own marriages work. The experiment of drifting in and out of numerous relationships has proved to be unsatisfactory and now couples are discovering the satisfaction of long term relationships.

This should be no surprise to us. We are designed to live in relationships and the best relationships are those which have proven the test of time and are based on deep love rather than the temporal nature of desire and attraction.

I believe that personal faith can help this process. Knowing that we are loved by God, despite our failings, will help us love our partners.

30 August 2011

God created you and knows your heart, so don’t feel guilty about anger. Just be sure you deal with it helpfully.