Romans 1:21  For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

In a recent article (March 15, 2019) in the Christian Post, author Michael Gryboski interviewed Jonathan Morrow, who is an expert in training high school and college students in Christian apologetics and worldview.  Morrow said, it was “confusion” that was a pervasive problem in ‘Generation Z’, citing his experience working with the Barna Group and surveying young people about religion and morality.  Morrow says, “The world that they’ve inherited has really essentially told them, ‘Hey, real truth doesn’t exist on questions of morality and spirituality.’ And so they don’t want to be judgmental. They don’t want to impose on anybody. And they’ve been raised as a generation that’s kind of been taught to believe that how I feel determines what’s real…I think there’s this lack of confidence. They don’t want to offend.”  This current generation has turned from God and the result is deceptive, futile, muddled and distorted thinking.

According to the passage in Romans, the thinking of the ungodly, deceived by lies from the father of lies, becomes:

Deceptive:  Their reasoning is false, based on deceptive philosophy, seeking to steer people off course, aimed at distortion and moral perversity, not at Godliness and upright living.

Futile:  Their thinking is meaningless, empty, foolish, lacking purpose and substance.

Muddled:  Their understanding is muddled, actually darkened because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.  There is a moral component to the way the ungodly think.

Distorted:  These people have thinking which is incorrect, off the mark, which depends on human tradition and is grounded in worldly principles, not on Christ.

Raised in a world with little theological underpinning, our youth are confused and uncertain about what they believe.  So, how do we influence the next generation to lead a productive life?  Be alert to deceptive, foolish, meaningless,  muddled thinking.  Where do we find thinking which is clear, accurate, full of meaning, and true?  God’s Word.  The more that we immerse ourselves in the only source of clear thought, the more that we will bear fruit in our own lives and be able to set a standard of Truth for this coming generation, who want to find an anchor in the midst of a sea of distorted thinking.