Why on earth should I feel sorry for my grandkids? When I was a teenager we rarely ate out. Fast food (where I lived) was pretty well limited to fish and chips from Greasy Joe’s. My grandchildren can choose between Hungry Jacks and Pizza Hut, between Red Rooster and Mackers – and that’s only four of a dozen options.

Why should I feel sorry for my grandchildren? Our home didn’t have a telephone – Mum and Dad finally got one after I left home and got married. All except the youngest of my grandkids have smart phones. They can stay in touch with their friends virtually 24/7.

Why feel sorry for the children of my children? My parents asked me to leave school after three years of secondary school so that I could make a necessary contribution to the family finances. My grandchildren will likely go through to year 12 and some move on to University.

Why, for crying out loud, would I feel sorry for them when I think of the clothes they wear? At school I put my knee through my school pants. My migrant parents had to start all over again from scratch and school uniforms were not cheap. I went to school with a patch on my trousers.

In so many others ways it seems absurd to feel sorry for my grandchildren. But the fact is that I do.

I feel sorry for my grandchildren because they live in a pressure cooker society where coping with modern life is so often a huge challenge. Our local High School was shocked last week when a year-ten student took his own life. It was the second suicide in eighteen months. I was well and truly into adulthood before I had to deal with the issue of suicide. Teenagers should not have to deal with suicide.

I feel sorry for my grandchildren because they live in an age of confused sexuality. I was already in the workforce before I learned what homosexuality was. Sure – at my secondary school, students talked about “poofters” but to me it was merely a derogatory term. These days High School students have to navigate the whole gamut of LGBTQI “options”.

I feel sorry for my grandchildren because for their world nothing is certain anymore. I grew up in a world that still had a general consensus about Christian morality. Today my grandkids are being told that they have to be open-minded about nearly everything. Their teachers and role models these days are often people who are so open-minded that their brains are falling out.

I feel sorry for my grandchildren because they cannot escape the censure of others. Our tolerant society is often vicious in its intolerance. Anti-bullying workshops are held in most schools. But I am appalled at the censoriousness of young people’s responses on Instagram and Snapchat. That smartphone that enables them to stay in touch with friends 24/7 also means coping 24/7 with other young people’s bitchiness.

I feel sorry for my grandkids because increasingly they will be attacked for simply being Christians. Modern tolerance only goes so far. While it’s politically correct not to ruffle the feathers of Hindus and Buddhists for too many people Christians are fair game. My daughter was recently told by a teacher that humans are complex beings consisting of physical, mental and spiritual components but that the latter had nothing to do with God and she didn’t want to see any student writing “God” in their book at that point.

I feel sorry for my grandchildren, but do I despair for my grandchildren? Of course not! They have the same Lord Christ as their Saviour and King as I do. He has promised never to leave them or forsake them – not even when teachers try to undermine their faith or peers ridicule their relationship with God Almighty. They have the same Bible I have to guide their thinking and their actions – for them too it is the only infallible guide for issues of faith and life. It is there that they will find the wisdom to navigate life in an increasingly hostile environment. That brings me to the greatest reason why I should feel sorry for my grandchildren: I should feel really sorry for them if they should turn their back on the Saviour who gave His life so that they might have life in all its fullness.

/>/>John Westendorp””</p>”