What did you do last night? I attended a community awareness seminar on human sex trafficking sponsored by a police department outside of Atlanta. I went for two reasons. First, I like to stay on top of the latest research and make sure I haven’t missed any new information available. I also went because a high school senior asked me to be her mentor for her senior project. Her topic is human sex trafficking. Her goal is to raise awareness in her high school and community. This was her first event on the issue and she learned a lot.
As a senior project mentor, it is my job to invest a minimum of ten hours with this young lady, sharing what I know and offering direction for her project. While the senior project is unique to this high school, the idea of mentoring is not. Generational investment is important. Before families became so mobile, one of the classrooms of life was the community where generational investment took place. It even dates back to Biblical times.
Titus 2 speaks of the importance of mentoring. It has become a lost art form in our world and in our church today. It was one of the ways God used to help us stay on the right path and we’ve allowed it to fall by the wayside. Titus 2:7 says,
In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8 and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.”
God isn’t the only one who knows this. The enemy is quite aware of it too. If we would invest our lives into the generation behind us, there would be less people out there walking around vulnerable, ripe for the picking for pimps, drug dealers, gangs and the like.
1 Peter 5:8 says,
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
Many times, people fall victim to the schemes of the enemy due to lack of experience and knowledge. By investing in their lives, we share our knowledge and experiences, and help them become more aware and alert.
There are many ways to invest. You can coach, teach Sunday School or a small group, be a scout leader, teach a class on a topic of interest, and the list goes on and on. What other ways come to mind? How are you investing in the next generation? If you aren’t yet, there’s no better time like the present to get involved. Make a difference in someone’s life today.
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