When You (Try) To Ignore God

Sunday, January 11, 2026

I read a fascinating article yesterday about Gen Z and money.  It paints a picture of hopelessness, describing Gen Z’ers as “doom spenders,” and uses other unhappy words like “disillusionomics,”  “economic nihilism” and “money dysmorphia.”  It paints a picture of a hopeless generation.  I wrote about it just before Christmas.  I discussed then that the mindset not only lacked hope, but gratitude for what they did have, and that both hopelessness and ingratitude were rooted in the absence of faith.

This morning as I contemplated this latest installment on Gen Z’s unimpressive approach to money and life, I recalled Ephesians 2.  The opening paragraph of which can be summarized, “And you were dead…But God…made us alive….”  You thought you had no money, but God made sure you had enough.  What a magic phrase “but God.”  These same Gen Z’ers are making rent and taking care of the necessities of life, but they are not living life as they did with their parents and they lack faith (but God) that it will get better.

So many people hate Donald Trump, and on a personal level there might be reasons to, though as good Christians we should endeavor not to hate anybody.  But you can divide those haters pretty easily between those that look at his policies and say “OK” and those that use the hatred as an excuse to not look at all – to presume his policies hate-worthy because they find him hate-worthy.  And I think the difference is “but God.”  Trump may be distasteful, but God is in charge and so Trump can still do good things.

The key to solving so many of the issues that face the nation these days lies not in the issues proper but in helping people to once again learn, acknowledge and use the phrase “but God.”  My heart aches for a generation that is seemingly without hope.  There is only one reliable source of the stuff and that is God.  I don’t know how, but we need to take Him to them.  What I am sure of is He will lead the charge.