“You’re Young! Have Fun!”

It’s Super Bowl Sunday; millions watch as two teams battle it out on the field for a chance at the championship. The football game, however, is not the only battle taking place. Advertisers spending hundreds of thousands of dollars fight for the attention of the audience. Using a combination of celebrities and glitz, companies desperately pitch their products. One commercial is for Pepsi. It begins with two teenage guys sitting on a curb, bored and drinking Pepsis. One says to the other, “So what do you want to do?”. Instead of a plan for the afternoon, his friend launches into a list of all the rites of passage he’ll face the rest of his life — “Well, I guess I’ll get a wife, have some kids, kiss up to the boss, bowl with the guys, join the Elks’ Club, retire, move to Palm Springs...” — It’s all a blur and seemingly meaningless. The commercial ends with screaming guitars and the words, “You’re Young, Have Fun, Drink Pepsi.” The message: life is pointless. Your first 18 years are your only chance to have fun; so party, be irresponsible and drink our colored sugar water.

What’s the big deal about a simple TV ad? Why should anyone even care about it? We should be concerned because it embodies the lie that is being fed to our generation of young people on a regular basis. It is the Old Attitude. At first glance the Old Attitude seems to have the needs of the teenager in mind, it says: “You have your whole life ahead of you to work hard, so focus on having fun while you’re young.” But a closer look at the consequences of this attitude reveals it does a great deal of harm. The “Have Fun, Drink Pepsi” mentality postpones real life with its responsibilities, and the person who sinks into this lifestyle may never want to come out of it. The natural occurrences in life, things like holding a job, supporting a family, and growing old seem harsh to the youth whose teen years were not stepping stones to maturity. The Old Attitude deposits the teenager at the doorstep of adulthood totally unprepared.

For many young people, this attitude is all they know. Their friends live like this; MTV tells them to live like this; and most of their parents expect them to live like this. They may end up learning the hard way —the Old Attitude lives on. But its days are numbered. There is a generation of home schoolers across America that will not only preside over the burial of the Old Attitude but also show the world a better way - a New Attitude based on the hope of Jesus Christ and a spirit that longs To Know, To Do, and To Dare!

A Spirit Stirring Within You

What is the New Attitude and where did it originate? The New Attitude, ironically, is not “new”. It has been lived out by the great men and women of history. People who lived honest, upright lives in the fear of God, who by their own diligence went from poverty to wealth, ignorance to knowledge, and insignificance to great influence and power. Men like Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Dwight Moody are just a few examples.

Many others have lived out the New Attitude without becoming famous. But they were all lovers of knowledge and fresh challenges, entrepreneurs and explorers. They loved their country and the biblical principles upon which it was founded. Each was ready to fight to uphold freedom and justice. A study of history and the great men and women who made it reveals that their attitude toward life made them world changers. They were seemingly ordinary people whose diligence in study and devotion to godly principles touched all those around them.

James Garfield, the 20th President of the United States, was one of these people. Assassinated only a month into his term, the life he led before his death was exemplary of hard work and singleness of purpose. His father died when he was little over a year old, leaving his mother with three children. Although poor, James Garfield did not look on his circumstance with contempt. Later in his life he said, “Poverty is uncomfortable, as I can testify. But nine times out of 10 the best thing that can happen...is to be tossed overboard and be compelled to sink or swim....In all my acquaintance I never knew a man to be drowned who was worth the saving.”

When forced to “sink or swim”, James Garfield proved he was “worth the saving”. He farmed at age 10; he worked at numerous jobs from 12 to 16 including amateur carpentry. Longing for a college education, he crammed six years of hard study into three at Williams College. He became a teacher there at the age of 25 and a year later its president. On the side he studied and became a lawyer. In the Civil War he distinguished himself and became a major general. By the age of 29 he was a state senator; at 30 the youngest member of the House of Representatives. He was a member of the United States Senate at 49 and at 50 became the President of America.

And it was James Garfield who put the spirit of the New Attitude into words. In a letter to a student he wrote,

“Tell me, Burke, do you not feel a spirit stirring within you that longs to know, to do, and to dare; to hold converse with the great world of thought, and hold before you some high and noble object to which the vigor of your mind and the strength of your arm may be given?”

From this letter the spirit of the New Attitude “To Know, To Do, and To Dare” is taken.

Unfortunately, few can relate to the spirit that longs “to know, to do, and to dare”. It is foreign to the average public school teenager. To many “longing to know” is absurd; academics are something to be completed as quickly and as easily as possible. If it applies to a recreational activity, “longing to do” might be okay, but anything else is out of the question- adulthood is the time for serious work. And the idea of daring or dreaming of the future? “Worry about that later,” the world says. “Figure it out after college.”

It is for this reason that home schoolers are the hope of the New Attitude. Freed from the peer pressure and constraints of institutional learning, they can embrace the spirit of the New Attitude and show by example what can be accomplished by young people who strive To Know, To Do, and To Dare.

Seeking Knowledge

The spirit To Know actively pursues learning in all areas, not just in studying textbooks but in everyday conversation with people and observation of life. The person who is dedicated to acquiring knowledge is always on the lookout for a chance to gain information. This learning must be on a firm foundation. The Bible must be the center of all learning and acknowledged as the infallible word of God. The scriptures then provide a light by which all areas of study are illuminated.

Jesus is an example of a person who longed To Know. Luke 2:41-46 shows Jesus as a teenager in Jerusalem sitting with the elders. It tells us he was listening and asking questions. As in all areas of life, Jesus models the behavior we should follow. He listened with respect to his elders but also questioned them; he didn’t blindly accept all they claimed. The world becomes the classroom of the student who follows his example. Learning becomes a process that takes place not just at a school but every hour of every day.

Knowledge Requires Action

Taking action sums up the spirit To Do. It means putting belief and ability into motion. A Chinese proverb said it this way, “Knowing and not doing are equal to not knowing at all.” And it’s true! The truth requires positive action. It can take many forms. For some it might mean starting a business or working as an apprentice in a field of interest. For another it might mean becoming involved in a cause like the pro-life movement, supporting a political candidate or going to the mission field. The principle is simple: real life is right now. There is no better time to start working and making a difference in this world for Jesus Christ. You can be a world changer!

In the Pursuit of a Dream

What are your dreams for the future? What goals do you have for your life? Are you doing anything to make them a reality? The spirit To Do means to pursue your dreams courageously. Being courageous does not mean living without fear. Instead it means that you don’t allow these fears to hold you back from pursuing your dreams. We all struggle with feelings of inadequacy but equipped with knowledge based on God’s word and the spirit ready To Do, you will be limited only by your ability to dream. To Dare means to dream large dreams, to pursue goals seemingly impossible to many but very possible for those who serve the God who can open any door.

The close of James Garfield’s letter articulates it clearly:

“Do you not have longings like these, which you breathe to no one, and which you feel must be heeded, or you will pass through life unsatisfied and regretful? I am sure you have them, and they will forever cling around your heart till you obey their mandate. They are the voices of that nature which God has given you, and which, when obeyed, wilt bless you and your fellowmen.”

History shows us that the people who made their mark were those who sought after knowledge, took action, and pursued their dreams unwaveringly. The same is true today. The decision is yours. Are you willing to do what Ephesians 4:22-24 says and “put off your old self’ and “be made new in the attitude of your minds...”? If you are, then you’ve taken the first step in making the New Attitude your attitude.