The Attacks on Young People
- Strength For Life
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
It is true that every generation has its own unique struggles and difficulties; not one has escaped hardship. In many ways, the difficulties and struggles are a good thing. When responded to the right way, trials can produce a stronger and more mature faith (James 1:2–4). With that said, I believe it is important to point out the unique struggles that this current generation of young people faces. Knowing what specific struggles others are facing is helpful for two reasons. First, to understand the schemes of the devil better (Ephesians 6:11). Second, to know on which fronts the battle must be fought. According to the current reckoning, my birth year categorizes me as belonging to Generation Z (1997-2012). For the sake of this article, I will limit my focus to five areas of attack and difficulty that disproportionately affect young people in my own generation.
Abortion
Before a Gen Z individual ever makes it out of the womb, he or she is already imperiled by the onslaughts of Satan against their very life. Statistically, the most dangerous place for a person in my generation was their mother’s womb. 28% of all babies conceived between 1997–2012 were murdered before they could be born. That makes nearly one-third of my generation the victim of abortion—almost 20 million young people, made in God’s image, who have been murdered. For context, that is more than three times the number of people who died in the Holocaust. Further, rather than being mourned, their murder was celebrated and defended by many. Not long ago, I had the privilege of going to the Holocaust Museum. It was a sobering experience to say the least. It is time that we speak about and commemorate the current holocaust, the millions of babies we are sacrificing each year. The gas chambers in WWII were truly awful, but nothing has changed. Each generation since Roe v. Wade is experiencing a far greater holocaust. The difference is that our gas chambers are not as overt—today they are called “Planned Parenthood.” But the threat is no less real. Before this generation even gets the chance to fight back, they are under attack.
Educational Indoctrination
If a young person survives the first attack in the womb, he is quickly ushered into the public education system. This includes Christian kids as well. Around 90% of professing believers allow the public school system to educate their children. The consequences have been predictable. Statistics show that we are losing 70–88% of Christian children by their freshman year of college. When pointing this out, Voddie Baucham famously stated that if we send our children to Caesar, we ought not be surprised when they come back Romans. The truth is that multitudes of Christian parents are sending their K-12 young people into a godless world. In that environment, these young people are forced to combat the lies of LGBTQ+, transgenderism, evolution, and many others. Unfortunately, the majority of Christian young people in public school systems are being overcome by these false teachings.
Gender Manipulation
For almost all of human history, people had enough common sense to recognize that there are only two genders. These two genders have specific biological markers which should be embraced, not rejected. But in the last 15–20 years, we have abandoned all 6,000 years of longstanding biological fact. We now embrace a postmodern, relativistic view of biology in which anyone can be anything, no matter what the facts say. Previous generations told todays young people that their feelings are the most important thing about them. That indoctrination has developed to the point that Gen Z is told if you don’t feel like a boy, then go ahead and castrate yourself—better yet, others will do it for you and fund it. This type of thinking is obviously satanic, but more specifically, it is an attack on the very fabric of God’s order and design.
Easy Vice
Vices of all sorts have been around since the beginning of time. Alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, pornography, and gambling are almost as old as humanity. But I would suggest that at no point in human history has a generation been as exposed to these vices as this one. Everywhere you look, these harmful vices are being advertised and normalized. The problem with these vices is not merely that they take young people’s money, but that they take their souls. Young people are being gripped by harmful addictions that attack their very being at younger ages than ever before. Government and corporate leaders are motivated by profit and disregard the negative consequences to consumers. But they are also motivated by control. They know that if they can addict millions of the next generation to marijuana, pornography, and gambling, those addicted men and women will become dependent on these vices and ultimately fall under the control of the dispensers of those vices. Young people on marijuana, vapes, and pornography do not question narratives. They do not push back against the system because, through their own choices, they have become dependent on it.
Economic Instability
You might be thinking, “You just went from abortion, transgenderism, education, and vice to economics?” This attack does not seem as overtly moral in nature, but its implications are profound. As an example, one basic metric for the health of an economy is housing prices. Here is a quick history.
In 1950, the average housing price was $7,350; in 1960, the median sale price was $11,900; in 1970, the average sale price was $17,000. Now, in 2024, the average cost of a home in the U.S. is $414,500, and the average first-time homebuyer is nearly 40 years old. This economic situation makes it very challenging for young people to succeed. The reason economic instability is listed as an attack is because it is an indirect attack on the family. Partially motivated by the poor economic climate, young people are delaying marriage until around 30 years old on average. Many couples are dependent on two incomes, which makes it much more challenging for them to have and raise children because doing so would reduce the family income significantly. The economic climate has pushed women into the unnatural role of a full-time corporate employee instead of the natural roles of wife, mother, and keeper at home (Titus 2:5). This point alone could be its own article because of the weighty moral implications that it has.
Each of these five issues is a direct attack that has largely affected young people. Space in this article won't allow for an enumerated list of potential solutions, but thank the Lord that we have 66 books filled with solutions to each and every problem or attack we may face. We are losing many of Gen Z to the world, the flesh, and the devil; these things ought not to be. If the church is informed, we can speak to the issues affecting young people and work to gain ground in the battle for their souls.
The above article was written by Andrew Johnson. He is on part-time staff at NorthStone Baptist Church in Pensacola, Fl. To offer him your feedback, comment below or email us at strengthforlife461@gmail.com.
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