The World Is Bigger Than You Think, Part 2

You can avoid gossip magazines and celebrity gossip television shows, but over the last couple of years you probably haven't been able to avoid stories of the exploits and travails of several beautiful, famous, and wealthy young women. The McCain campaign actually compared Barack Obama to two of them, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. The Obama team was outraged. Hilton responded with a clever campaign-ad parody.

The media is full of sad stories about beautiful young women who seem to have everything life can offer, but also seem deeply troubled. Besides Spears and Hilton, Lindsey Lohan and the Olsen twins come to mind. There are at least as many famous and troubled young men out there, though somehow without the same level of public obsession. Heath Ledger will soon be nominated for an Academy Award — he might even win — but he's no longer with us to enjoy it.

Even if you have no interest in the private lives of the privileged, you've probably looked at some of these young men and women and asked,  "What's wrong with these people?"

Do you remember photos of Britney Spears shaving her head? The Bible says a woman's glory is in her hair. When she cuts all of it off, it feels like bereavement. Why was she so sad? What's wrong? One day I was thinking of her and some others, and asking myself this question, when an answer hit me like a bolt out of the blue — They don't know how important they are.

Toward A State of Esteem
At first, it sounds ridiculous. After all, this is the generation of self-esteem, get a gold star just for showing up. Everybody's a winner, there are no losers — ever. In the 1990s, the State of California decided  that "Self-esteem is the likeliest candidate for a social vaccine, something that empowers us to live responsibly and that inoculates us against the lures of crime, violence, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, child abuse, chronic welfare dependancy and educational failure."

This is the generation that grew up in that educational environment. And, in fact, their actions often show them to be utterly self-absorbed and self-centered.

But the answer persisted. They don't know how important they are.

They're taught to have self-esteem, but only as an act of blind faith. It's the paradox of modern teaching. Educators know the importance of self-esteem, but the dominant world view in academia makes no reasonable allowance for human significance.

Darwinian evolution has become the fountainhead of secular thought. Everything else springs from it. And it teaches our children that they are the product of pure chance, that the universe is devoid of significance. They have been taught since early childhood that their lives can't possibly mean a thing. They've been stripped of their humanity. C. S. Lewis wrote about it in a book called The Abolition of Man. Today we see his warning take on flesh and blood before our eyes . . . flesh and blood, but no heart.

The Abolition of Man
In one breath young people are taught to esteem themselves above all things and that their lives mean nothing at all. No wonder they're cynical. No wonder life has become a one-dimensional quest for as much fun as possible as fast as possible. Feeling good for a few minutes here and there is all they have.

They don't know how important they are . . . don't know that they are made in the image of God . . . that the Lord of the universe loves them and has for them a wonderful plan and purpose . . . that He sent His Son to pay the ultimate price to redeem their oh-so-precious lives.

"Imagine" a Pale Blue Dot of a world, where everything means nothing. The song, "Imagine," and book, Pale Blue Dot, argue for the elimination of human importance (and God's existence) as a means to world peace. There's no need for war because nothing's important. Our lives have no meaning, so there's nothing to fight over.

Ironically, in the last century, several groups held such views even as they murdered millions. If nothing's important, "Why not murder?" is as good a question as, "Why murder?"

"Imagine" a Pale Blue Dot  of a world where children — robbed of meaning and infused with anger — wallow in despair, furiously searching for their souls while mocking anyone who believes in the soul.

What's wrong with these people? They don't know how big the world is. They don't know who I AM THAT I AM is, or that He loves us and is mindful of us.

They don't know how important they are.

Posted: 12-19-2008
Note: At original posting, all links were active.