Why Teenagers Think They Know Everything

I know most of you are probably saying in your head right now... "Wasn't Adam a teenager just a couple of years ago?" And the answer to that is yes. I want to tell you why that benefits me:

1 - Because it wasn't that long ago, I can resonate with teens a little easier. Being a teen is still pretty fresh in my mind.

2 - Through working doing youth ministry for the last couple of years I have been able to see not only the lives of teenagers, but the view of youth worker, and just how much they are about these kids.

So whether you have a teenager, you have had a teenager in the past or if you have had any interaction with this interesting species of human over the past couple of years, it is not hard to see that teenagers for the most part think that they know everything. The even funnier thing is... a big part of me can't blame them. Let me explain.

I have this strong belief that teens work through the science of "cause and effect." Yes, it is one of the few times you can ever say that teenagers are a science of any sort, but let me explain. Many times we have several burnt out leaders and youth pastors because the majority of their time dealing with teens is seeing the effects from the many "causes" they have had in their life. When a student comes in, and is breaking every rule that I lay down, it's not for no particular reason 99% of the time. This is a serious "effect" to a really nasty "cause" in their life. I want to take this and apply it to the concept of teenagers thinking they know everything.
I believe the majority of teens think they know everything because most of them feel that they have to.

The reason to teens feeling they have to know everything can be attributed to several things. The biggest reason being they haven't had much help putting the right "causes" in their life. The majority of the students I see on a Sunday night are either from families with divorce, single mothers, foster children and families that simply do not get involved in their students lives enough. The family is meant to be a child's main support system until they are able to get strong enough wings to drop from the nest. What is the teen supposed to do when that support system falls apart? What do you do when there aren't grandparents to share wisdom? What do you do when there's not a man telling your son how to treat a girl? What do you do when there is no positive mentors in your kids life? What do you do when you have no real roll model to emulate?

As a teenager, I will tell you what you do. You try to learn it all yourself. You will learn from the biggest stars in hollywood or music. You will learn from the things you read in magazines. You will learn from the movies. You will learn from myspace and the internet. You will try to learn from your LIMITED PERSONAL EXPERIENCES and most likely you will learn from your friends. Why? Because there is usually no better person or place to learn from.

I want to finish this post with a command and a call:

1 - I am in no way excusing the behavior of any teen using just the excuse that they didn't have good roll models. Many people have overcome such terrible conditions to be strong and capable people. There is still a sense of right and wrong in every human, and that is still an important factor. If you are a teen and reading this, then you will just have to take my word on this. You really don't know it all. I thought I did when I was 17, I didn't know it all, I promise. A real sign of maturity is when you are ready to sit down, admit you don't really know a whole lot of anything and listen to someone who has been there before. There will also be a whole bunch of teens who have great mentors and families that still think they know everything. That is mostly attributed to the fact that teens know more now than they ever have before. They just still think it's more than it actually is.

2 - I am calling for all of you parents and wise people of faith out there to do something about it. Edmund Burke once said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Teens are nothing to be scared of. The world needs more wisdom to be passed on. Nothing can replace years of experience. I will be the first one to admit that. I learn something every day from someone with more years under their belt. Imagine what a group of moms, dads, grandparents and mentors who are willing to pull up their sleeves and get dirty can accomplish. It is a force of good to be reckoned with... There are so many hands out there looking for answers. Grab one and help it go the right direction.