Captives, Not Prisoners
But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. (Daniel 1:8)
This is a generation of passivity where people seem to simply go with the flow. Don’t believe me? Just look around you. If you’re in a room full of people right now, you will notice that almost everyone has a piece of hand-held electronic device just a few inches from their face.
One might argue that it’s an addiction, that people can no longer live without their phones within their reach all the time. That might be the case. But observe what people are fondly looking at on their super-high-color displays—social media sites.
And it’s not a coincidence that almost everyone seems to have become prisoners to social media. No—prisoners to today’s culture, actually.
Plato thought so, too, and he was right. He argued that human beings lived a certain way, but the same way that others do.
Someone wrote that this generation is young, gifted, yet held back. What holds it back? It’s safe to say that society does. There is a call—a challenge if you will—for this generation to go against the flow.
Just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t mean it’s right. There is a call and a challenge for this generation to live a certain way, but NOT the same way that others do.
The question is if that’s even possible.
It’s possible if you have conviction.
Conviction is defined as a firmly held belief or opinion. To put it simply, it’s a set of boundaries you have set for your life. When others cheat, you don’t, because that would be going outside your boundaries.
When others lie, you choose to tell the truth, because that is your conviction. Oftentimes, conviction involves doing the opposite of what most are doing, especially if what most are doing are outright wrong. In short, when you have conviction, prepare to be unpopular, which is why you will need courage.
It’s possible if you have courage.
They say that courage is not the absence of fear, but having the ability to conquer it. Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid of what people might think about you. Don’t be afraid to do what is right. Don’t be afraid even if it means becoming uncool or unpopular.
It’s possible if you have character.
Everyday you are presented with choices, opportunities to do either what is right or what is wrong. Character is formed every time you choose the former over the latter, and this is your foundation for living. It is only by having character that you can live clean in a corrupt society.
Millennials, remember that you are young and gifted. You may be a captive of society and culture, but don’t allow yourself to be its prisoner. Go against the flow!
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