Meeting about 60 lively youth in a village, during their orientation program was a joy; I had gone to them for an official work, not so much to attend or help organize the orientation. But when the master of the ceremony announced that I say a word or two to the youth, I was at first puzzled as to what to tell the young people whom I had seen some eight years ago, when I served them as their co-pastor for one and half years. But for most of them, eight years would mean that they were either at the age of eight or nine, an age which is too small to remember persons. But I did remember to tell them something.
Today’s youth are the rulers of the nation tomorrow; the fate of the nation in fact, is in the hands of the youth. It is for them to decide what they want to make of the nation. On the one hand, they can just close their eyes and ears and let the nation go to hell, as it were, for it is none of their business to really bother about the fate of the nation. On the other, the can take their role as the future leaders of the country seriously, and prepare themselves to play a significant and responsible role in nation-building. It is for them to decide what they want to do with their lives.
Living in a village, with very limited facilities to forward thinking, one gets the feeling that due to the social and cultural setup, the youth tend to develop certain amount of narrow-mindedness from their early years; and it might hamper their very growth at a later stage. They may have to make an effort to really look beyond their nose, to realize that there is a world outside themselves, and it is for them to make it throb with life and vitality. They cannot look for life and vitality from outside, but they have to come from deep within.
Youth are a suspected lot, and they are suspected by everyone in society; even small children would hesitate to entrust the youth with something serious in nature. They are suspected to be far too frivolous, fun-loving, lacking any sense of seriousness, concerned primarily with enjoying life to the maximum, wasting time and energy in useless things, events and ultimately not taking life seriously. A group of youth which is often looked upon with suspicion cannot progress; they would be often bogged down by fear and refuse to give themselves fully for the work.
Anyone who has passed through youth, will realize that it is the most enjoyable phase in one’s life, because it is the time when one comes in contact with the outside world, but safeguarding oneself not to be drowned by the allurements placed at their disposal. There are important temptations which stare directly at the youth, and if they are not prepared to face them, they can become a problematic area. Today’s youth require role models, who can inspire and motivate them; until they see the fruits of undergoing certain training to spread the light of good life they have received from others, the light set up by others in our hearts will continue to shine in the midst of darkness.
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