The other day, I pulled into my driveway to hear yelling from my neighbor’s house. Five people stood outside, four appeared to be teenagers (three girls and a boy) and one woman, about forty. The person doing the yelling was the forty-year-old. She was screaming at one of the girls. Most of the time that 
house is pretty quiet. It’s the one across the street that usually has the drama. But what shocked me most was that it was the older woman doing the hysterical yelling. The girl argued back every once in a while, but her voice was low. For some reason, I expected better from someone closer to my age. I’d never have a fit in my front yard for all the neighbors to see.
I have a tendency to look at the comments from news stories. Those that involve teens acting up, are almost always the same. Complaints about the next generation. We forget that we are the teachers and should hold ourselves more accountable for the kids’ behavior.
Ephesians 6:4 states, Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. There was little doubt this young girl was exasperated by the woman’s tone and words. I imagine if the young girl had been the one screaming, the woman would have told her not to be so disrespectful.
Why do we expect kids to behave better than we do?
We steal from work, whether its supplies or time sitting on personal calls. We lie to our boss about being 
sick just to have a day off. Then when our children do the same in the way of stealing from us or skipping school, we have a fit. We scream at our children then when they return the favor, we tell them not to embarrass us.
Who do you think they learned this behavior from? We can’t expect the next generation to be any different than we are. We must lead by example. That not only goes for ourselves, but the people we put into leadership roles.
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Knowing what’s right doesn’t mean much unless you do what’s right. – Theodore Roosevelt
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Teachers, the media, ministers, and politicians are a prime example of problems with this country. They lie, they cheat, and they steal. Yet, we continually allow them to keep their jobs. If they are not willing to lead morally, we should remove them from their position.
It’s time we bring moral leaders back into this country, not just in government, but in our own homes as well.
We can’t expect the next generation to fix what we keep doing wrong. It’s time we show instead of tell kids how to act. One way is to humble ourselves when we do wrong and to act mature in all situations. Another is to promote leaders who have a good moral compass. If we’re not willing to do that, then the next generation has no chance.
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