Life is getting more difficult for the next generation.
Do you agree or do you disagree?
3, 2, 1, go!
I think life is actually getting more and more difficult because of just how
lonely and isolated we are in this generation.
We have like this idea that we're connected with people from social media
and stuff, but really we're more lonely, we're struggling mentally.
And that mental space is what helps us do life.
And if it's not healthy, if it's not a safe space or
a happy place to be in, life's gonna be a lot more difficult.
I feel like our generation has got it a lot harder than past generations.
No one goes out anymore.
No one goes out to meet people.
No one makes friends by just bumping into them.
Everyone makes friends online nowadays.
Everyone does their shopping.
You can get everything online.
I feel like because of that, our generation is going to struggle
a lot more with their social skills.
I believe that life has always been difficult, no matter what generation
you are and where you're from.
It's always been quite tough for everyone.
And I think that nowadays we have a lot more support than we used to.
But even then, life is still hard nowadays.
So I think that life has always been hard and it will always be hard.
So after all of these opinions, is there anyone who would like to switch?
When was the last time you watched the news on TV?
Probably never.
I can get updates on my phone, and besides, have you actually sat down
and watched the news for a full hour?
How did it make you feel afterwards?
Eugh!
But it's not like the news feed on your phone is much better.
It never quits with terrible stories: war, climate change, political scandals,
natural disasters, violence and exploitation.
And we just let it wash over us.
Every hour. Like a constant shower of negativity.
I think this is one of the reasons they're calling us the anxious generation.
We're the first people growing up with this 24/7 doom scroll.
But on the other hand, there has never been a generation more
aware of the world's problems and potential solutions.
We may be the most passionate generation there has ever been
for justice and equality.
It's the pros and cons of having the world's information at our fingertips.
A strong sense of both anxiety and activism.
It's as if we're constantly being asked the overwhelming question: Is the world
hopeless, or can we change it?
And it's easy to feel that way.
We look around and see evil so rampant in the world.
Countless corrupt leaders and governments.
Is it a lack of education or misplaced resources?
In some ways, yes, we can blame all that.
But the thing they have in common is us, people.
Christians would say that at the root of it all the human heart is sick.
We call this sin.
Now, sin is a word people often avoid, but it simply means living life our
own way, ignoring the one who made us.
Somehow we keep messing things up, hurting others and hurting ourselves.
Now, you may not feel particularly sinful, but we're all part of the problem.
You and I, all of us, are contributing to this big mess.
So what can we actually do about this?
How do we fix ourselves and the mess that we're in?
I mean, it's not all bad.
People are out there curing diseases, fighting for justice,
stopping wars, and helping those in need.
I think that shows just how much hope we still have.
Deep down, we want the world to get better.
It's like somehow we believe rescue is possible.
But have you ever been frustrated that despite all our knowledge,
scientific breakthroughs, and progress, humanity still keeps
making the same mistakes?
We are the most advanced we have ever been,
And yet, when we scroll through our news feeds, we see the same old problems
cropping up again and again.
This is because we aren't able to deal with the root of the issue: sin.
There's a letter in the Bible that says that we can't stop gratifying the cravings
of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts.
Like a doctor trying to diagnose a mysterious disease,
we keep treating symptom after symptom without getting to the root
cause of the illness.
The Bible says that we are more than just sick, that we are dead in our sins.
What the world ultimately needs is salvation from sin.
No one can simply fix the human heart because the problem goes much deeper
than our emotions or intellect.
Sin is a spiritual problem that needs a spiritual solution.
People often tell me that I'm a statistical anomaly,
that I shouldn't be where I am today because my life didn't start off so great.
My mom was sick, my dad was a heavy drinker.
I grew up in a broken home and we grew up in a very impoverished area in Dublin.
I was so hopeless as a child.
I had no hope in my life.
I was so hungry for justice because I felt wronged by society.
I felt wronged by the world.
I was a child and I couldn't have controlled any of the things
that were done to me and done at me.
And I was so hungry for someone to come in and save me, help me, give me some
hope, some sense of I can have a future.
When I finally got to university, I thought that's when things could change.
I started marching, I started joining every political party you could think of.
I thought this political leaders, movements, they're going to change
the world and hear the voiceless, help the needy, meet the needs on the ground.
But that wasn't the case at all.
Yes, it's great work, but it, it wasn't tangible work.
There was still so much brokenness.
No matter how much we marched or moved or, you know, picketed,
whatever it is, it wasn't enough.
It was never really enough.
There was always so much need.
And it wasn't until I found Jesus that I found hope.
I thought I was gonna be sticking it to my parents or even sticking
it to the system, or I thought justice would do that for me,
but really it was justice of the cross.
It was the love of Jesus.
It was him calling me by name, telling me that I was loved, that I
have a plan, a purpose, and a future.
And if not for that hope I found in Jesus, I wouldn't be where I am today.
That's why I'm a statistical anomaly.
When we couldn't save ourselves, God didn't look away.
He stepped in. He didn't write the world off.
He sent someone to rescue it.
And that changes everything.
He's the hope we can't find anywhere else.
Not in systems, not in science, not even in ourselves.
Real hope has a name.
And we believe his name is Jesus.
