Teens and Our Reputation

"The youth are rebellious, pleasure seeking, and irresponsible. They have no respect for their elders. They spend their days in idleness, and their nights pursuing sensual lusts. They have no respect for authority, nor the traditions of the past."

Who said this? Plato, in ancient Greece. Why, you would have thought that he was writing about this generation, wouldn't you? But why do we have this kind of reputation? Is that good or bad? Pretty obvious!

What do people think about us when we walk by or when we talk to them? How do we act? Do we act all giddy and that we don't care about anything except ourselves and looking cool? Do we act careless and like 8 year olds? No wonder why people have a hard time trusting us with anything! Ready to change that? Then lets go!



Here are some ways that we can change our reputation. . .

1. Be a positive influence to our siblings and peers. Believe it or not, EVERYONE watches you!! They watch to see how you talk, what you talk about, how you walk, how you dress, what you do, how you do it, etc.

One way to be a positive influence is by talking with everyone, not just to our "friends". Ever talk to an adult (besides your parents)? How about with a 5 year old (besides siblings)? A 9 year old boy once told his dad that his three best friends was a 60 year old, a 3 year old, and one kid his own age! How old are your best friends?
One more thing, try not to talk about yourself and your interests; ask about their interests and the things they like! (They might like you a little more! But that's not the point!);)

2. Help somebody. Help a mom with her baby. There's this one family we like visiting every so often and I see there children (ages 32 to 11) help mom's and dad's with their children! 22, 19, 18, and 15 years old are not told to go help, they just do it! And get this, they love it!

Help an elderly person pick up something they dropped. Or help a person by praying for them and talking to them! That family we visit doesn't think "Oh, my friends are not doing it, so why should I?" Do you think that?

3. Be a leader. A good leader! Don't be a follower (unless your following a good and trusted leader!)! Just about everyone who ever achieved something of value showed leadership. People like George Washington, the Wright brothers, Thomas Edison, Clara Barton, Jesus, and Billy Graham just to name a few.

If we help do our part then, we can change our reputation and people will look at us as a blessing and not a curse! We can change what people say about us as individuals and altogether, then they won't be saying things such as what Plato had said in the past about youth.

How will you help change your reputation?