Youth and Terrorism

In the modern times youth and terrorism make a volatile fusion. What inspires youngsters to take up arms against the system? What steps can be taken to check the increasing alienation of today's youngsters? These are the questions being asked at different forums and seminars to find a solution to curb the involvement of young people in the act of terrorism.

"You had everything you wanted. Your Mercedes wasn't enough, you brats. Your golden necklaces weren't enough, you snobs. Your trust funds weren't enough. Your vodka and cognac wasn't enough. All your debaucheries weren't enough. Those weren't enough to fulfil your hedonistic needs. You had everything."  These were the words of Cho Seung-Hui, a young student who gunned down 32 fellow students and teachers in Virginia Tech campus on April 16 before committing suicide. It was the deadliest shooting in modern US history.  Cho could have been speaking for millions of youngsters; particularly those on the wrong side of the have and have-not divide.

Recently a former Joint Director of the Intelligence Bureau, India commented that 'If the expectations of young people are not fulfilled in time, it results in frustration, making them deviate from the mainstream.'  He further said that young people around the world generate two powerful emotions in our minds - fear and hope. The fear, that they would disown and destroy all our civilization values, and the hope that they could revive, enrich, recreate and carry forward all the positive aspects of our collective heritage. These fears, hopes and frustrations are growing each day.  Nearly a million people worldwide kill themselves each year. There is an estimated 10 to 20 million attempted suicides every year. Many of them are youngsters unable to cope with these emotions. Many others rebel and youngsters are constantly in conflict with law. Add terrorism to this mix, and you have a million disasters waiting to happen.

These statements bring a lot of challenges for the youth of the church, who are called to be the peacemakers, that peacemaking is possible and young people are the ‘hope’.  Can we make a difference?  This is a question which does not need any answer but a committed action.

Kasta Dip

Building and maintaining a network

As young people of the church we always talk about networking, maybe its one of those familiar words that we hear from our senior leaders again and again.  This definitely gives us an idea that even if we differ in opinion there is room for sharing of ideas for achieving a common mission.  Therefore, it is important to find out people whose vision and aim of life is parallel to ours.

Once I heard a saying "It is not what you know, it is not who you know, it is what you know about who you know."  When we talk about networking, which is the most powerful way to build professional relationships, actively foster contacts and disseminate information.

So how do we maintain a network? Answer is probably obvious that by being beware of networking errors. However, if care is given these errors can be easily done away with.  For that we need to be sincere; should not ask for (or expect) payback; respect other people's time; follow up and follow through on promises; use special care with referred 'friends'; should not make disparaging jokes; should not err on the side of politeness and formality; should not wait to be properly introduced rather practice a self-introduction; and always express gratitude and appreciation.

Above all organizing networking events such as fellowship, meetings and consultations at regular interval always helps in maintaining the network and makes it more effective.

Kasta Dip

Reading the Bible for Spiritual Nourishment

In the month of February 2008 two programmes on ‘Rereading the Bible’ were organized at our Resource Center in Nagpur.  During the morning tea-break on the first day, after the programme was introduced, I was chatting with some of my friends and making a joke of the whole thing as we were asking each other ‘have you read the Bible at least once before coming here to ‘reread’ it?  We all laughed at it and instantly it became a running joke in the premises.

If we pause for a moment and think here, did we really make a joke or was it prompted by an inner voice?  Is it not true that most of us do not read the Bible the way we should read it?  As young people many of us read the Bible looking for the answers we want.  Or, worse, we read it to find proof texts for what we already believe.  Some of us think that we “have to” read the Bible daily to be a good Christian and so we feel guilty if we miss it by any chance.  Still some of us do not read Bible much at all, perhaps to avoid legalism or because we think they’re too busy.  This is one of the reasons why our lives lack the love, joy, peace, and power that Jesus’ disciples demonstrate on the pages of the New Testament.  God wants that we need to read the scriptures to listen to God speak his life into our souls rather than using the Bible to get what we want.  The Bible is called “the Word of God” for an important reason!  Our great opportunity is to humble ourselves before the Sacred Scriptures to listen to God speak his wisdom and his life to us today.

Reading the Bible regularly is essential as it disciplines us in our Christian living.  I’ve been doing this for years myself.  I learned this from my childhood.  But I have to keep reminding myself as somebody has said that ‘more important than getting through the whole Bible in a year is to get the Bible through the whole me’!  When we read the Bible rightly then we’re letting it, or rather God, read us.  We need to ask God to examine us as we actually are in that moment and to use the written Word of God to draw us to the Living Word of God, who is Jesus.  If our Bible reading does not lead us into a closer relationship with Christ such that we become more like him then it has no value.  Recall that Jesus said this to the Pharisees (John 5:39).

What I’m trying to say is that we need to learn to read the Bible with an attitude of submission to God.  This is the key to how we live our whole lives.  We should go to God’s Word with our hearts open and eager to hear, trust, and obey whatever he has to say to us today.  One way that we know that we’re reading the Bible submissively is if we’re surprised or challenged by something we read.  God’s Word is so deep and pervasive in its wisdom, goodness, and grace that no matter how many times we read it we should find new discoveries for our lives.  This is even true when we memorize a chapter or other long section.  We’ll find that when we’re turning it over in our mind in prayer for the umpteenth time that God brings something new to us for our life and our relationship with Him that day. 

The word of God is living and active (Hebrews 4:12).  May God use it to bring His life and the activity of His Kingdom into us and through us to others!  We need to always bear it in our mind that our aim of reading the Scriptures should not to be a scholar or to impress others with our knowledge of the Bible; our aim must be only to nourish our soul on God’s word to us.

Kasta Dip