This is a response to Simon Sinek’s video on Millennials in the workplace. It was an informative video that shed some light on new ideas and concepts I had not heard before, but there were some points I had already known from previous research. First of all, all members of this blog’s brotherhood are millennials, therefore, as we each respond we respond as those who are subjects of the conversation, but to varying degrees. Most of us were born in the late ‘80s, so we have elements of our experience that diverge from the millennial caricature, yet at the same time, we are products of our culture and environment. For my post, I have three movements: Agreement/Confession, BlameThrower, and the Church and Its Future.
Agreement/Confession
I pretty much agree with everything he said, however, there were some points of disagreement that I will tackle in the next section. For all intents and purposes, I am a millennial. I may not exhibit all of the characteristics of a millennial, but I was born in the late ‘80s, grew up in the greatest decade of all-time, the ‘90s, and am still very idealistic. Now as an adult millennial, I manage three other American-born millennials. Sinek had four premises or factors that influence the development of the millennial: 1) Parenting, 2) Technology, 3) Impatience, and 4) Environment. I will share how this is shown to be true in my own life.
First up, parenting. I was a classic middle child who never really felt like I got everything I wanted; so though I am a millennial, I do have less of a sense of entitlement and more of a work-hard-reap-rewards mentality. For the most part, my parents did a pretty good job raising me to be self-sufficient, however, I was a little too dependent on them for certain things. My father was really big on protecting and providing for his family, so I never worried too much about security and money. Also, my mother willed me to college. Though I had great grades, it was my mother who kept nagging me to fill out applications and pursue special programs. Now I have three post-secondary degrees. (Thanks, ma!)
When I think about my parents’ generation, however, the deficiency in parenting that gave birth to the millennial mindset was this desire by baby boomers to work hard and do whatever it takes to make sure not to ruin the lives of their kids. I feel this tension too as I consider having kids. A mindset like that can lead to idolatry. If the child is treated as if he/she is the center of the universe, then he/she will come to believe it’s true, which breeds narcissism. Similarly to my contemporaries, I too must confess that I am very narcissistic and self-consumed when giving into the flesh. However, by God’s grace, I feel I am being healed of that.
Second is technology. I plead guilty. We are pretty obsessed with technology and social media. My cellphone, oh man I always have it on my person, table, bed, or sofa. We’re addicted! It’s sad to admit it. It is even my alarm. Though I typically treat Facebook as an email account, event tracker, CNN, and a baby photo album, when I actually post something, I do return frequently throughout the day to check comments and likes. I thought it was interesting that there were connections between social media and depression. This makes sense because if everyone presents the glossed up version of their lives, then of course the person glancing through would be jealous and depressed that their life sucks in comparison. Also, if life doesn’t feel awesome at all and you present your life as awesome with your awesome post, then you may feel less awesome when only a few people like your awesome post. Looking back at my life the most depressing moments were either when I was frequently on Facebook or starving for it. I concede that balance is best.
Impatience, guilty as charged, your Honor. I hate going to restaurants to wait, for what feels like an hour, to get food. I would prefer oatmeal if I can get it in a couple seconds. Also, Amazon Prime, heck yeah! But the thing is, in our impatience, we tend to miss so much of life because we are looking forward to the next thing and not stay in the moment as it happens. We tend not to be content with the process, the job, or even relationships. Just as Sinek said, in reality, the most meaningful things take time, especially love and marriage.
His final focus is environment. He is primarily referring to “corporate America” or the workplace, which can be an unforgiving place. If you don’t put forth the production and numbers, then you don’t get a participation trophy. What I believe Sinek alludes to is a need for corporate America to be more invested in the development of the person rather than the output. This is not a license to cater to their every whim. It is, however, a call to learn how to almost “re-parent” millennials in a way that sets boundaries and cultivates a healthy view of authority. Leadership can work best when establishing guidelines, while also meeting their associates’ needs.
BlameThrower
One area of contention would be who to blame for the negative characteristics of this generation. Sinek places the blame on parents for their “bad parenting” techniques and on corporate America. Though I don’t discount parenting because they create the environment and reality that millennials grow up in and corporate America for the reality that they dwell in as adults, I do think it is a stretch to exonerate the millennial. He made the statement twice, “to no fault of their (millennials’) own”. I disagree. Ultimately, we as millennials must be held, to some degree, responsible for certain things and decisions in our lives.
If I have been nurtured to think or believe or even act a certain way, I still have the opportunity to choose how I must respond. It is kind of a ‘pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps’ mentality, but it is also human sin and responsibility. While certain behaviors may be understandable, that doesn’t make them excusable. If I was conditioned to think I am the center of the universe, then it is understandable for me to be narcissistic. If my parents did everything for me, then it is understandable for me to be unable to problem-solve or cope through life’s difficulties. However, if I fall behind on rent, I, not my parents, get kicked out.
The Church and Its Future
My final section points to a few things: how does a Christian respond, how does the Church move forward, and what does the future look like? As Christian millennials, we must live counter-culturally. There are things hard-wired into the way we live, but by the power of the indwelling Spirit, we must reject the things that conflict with Scripture and walk as Jesus did. I will be the first to admit that I am self-consumed, but Jesus focused on others. Our culture has a sense of self-entitlement, but Jesus emptied Himself (Phil. 2). Our culture tells us to make an impact and find fulfillment in that, but Jesus says, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19). As a Christian our responsibility is to submit to the Spirit to bear fruit (Gal. 5), and when that happens we will look less like the negative caricatures of millennials and more like Christ. There’s no room for narcissism in the Kingdom, so I am dying softly.
How does the Church move forward? Well … we will have to be surrogate parents, teaching people what it means to be a biblical man or woman (Titus 2). We have to be counselors, as in, churches will need to beef up their mercy ministries or have licensed counselors on staff because depression and mental illness is real and growing.
Finally, the future! I am fearful of a future ran by millennials. This is a worst case scenario, but if we are unwilling to put in the effort to learn how to work and serve others, or commit to anything, what kind of society will we have? Marriages and families will continue the rapid rate of decline with astronomical numbers. My narcissism impairs me from serving my wife altruistically, so what will become of marriages with narcissists unwilling to change, except greater numbers of divorce. If we cannot commit, the Church will fall because ministry is hard. Though I seem pessimistic, I do believe God can and will accomplish much through His Church inspite of us. It would be a great testimony of His goodness and grace. He can do it! I am definitely an example in process.
Final Thoughts
I agree with Sinek and confess my sin, however, when we talk blame, everyone gets a share. One thing my wife pointed out is millennials are not all bad, not even the caricature Sinek describes is completely terrible. Millennials have a drive to do or be something, which is great. There is nothing wrong with wanting to make an impact or find fulfillment, but the question will always be, ‘to what end and whose glory?’ If the end is self or others, then we will be incredibly depressed. There will be no greater sense of fulfillment, love, acceptance, purpose, security, and identity apart from God. David Wilkerson said, “There is absolutely nothing physical that can give you joy. It’s only what is accomplished by the Holy Spirit when you obey him and take on his heart.” God is the only end worth pursuing, and when self or others become that end, then we make gods of men. Millennials are unique, but we are just as broken and sinful as other generations. Let’s choose to identify with Christ and not the culture.
No comments:
Post a Comment