From Eliyahu:

Shalom friends, 

I just read an article in the Atlantic that details the change in attitudes of young men and women towards each other these days. Instead of being naturally drawn together as in generations past, millions of young men and young women go out of their way to avoid people of the opposite sex. Marriage is at an all time low, and so is child-bearing. Simple and innocent approaches, like a man politely speaking a word to a woman he doesn't know on an elevator, are considered "creepy" by some young women, and the whole idea of considering marriage is now seen as simply too stressful for a growing number of young people to even deal with, the Atlantic reports. This trend seems to be plaguing the entire western world, with the dearth of resultant childbirth actually putting the survival of some entire countries at demographic risk.

Apparently, there are a host of reasons for all of this, but I can't help but put the lion's share of the blame on the social engineering and change that has been going on since the mid-twentieth century. How can we expect people who were deposited in daycare at 6 weeks old, and then shifted through an unending string of new caregivers until adulthood, to form a close and lasting relationship with someone of the opposite sex? No wonder these young folks have such a hard time making a satisfying emotional connection. Of course, the result is anger and depression, and general dissatisfaction with everything and everyone. And indeed, an increase in mental illness among young people is increasing. This rise in mental illness, especially focused on the teen community, was addressed in an article in Psychology Today entitled The Alarming Rise in Teen Mental Illness. Here is a quote:

From this week’s fatal shooting at a Kentucky high school to the alarming rise of teen suicides and depression, something is terribly wrong with our nation’s youth. The past few years have witnessed an escalation in teen suicides and anxious, depressed, and suicidal students crowding college counseling centers (Center for Collegiate Mental Health). https: //www. psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-personal-renaissance/201801/the-alarming-rise-in-teen-mental-illness

This article went on to associate the internet with this growing problem, saying:

In surveys of over five hundred thousand American adolescents, psychologist Jean Twenge and her colleagues found that adolescents, especially girls, who spent more time on screen activities (smartphones, Internet, and social media) were significantly more likely to have symptoms of depression and suicidal ideation than those who spent their time on non-screen activities.

That's right. Studies indicate that smartphones, Internet, and social media are especially linked to mental illness in girls. Don't get me wrong, boys have their own problems related to the internet. However, when you are talking about a spectrum of depression all the way to suicide, you are talking about a very serious, even life-threatening, problem for girls and young women.

It is too easy just to blame smartphones and social media for this, rather that seeing why these are such a problem. This digital age seems to be about escape from real human interaction. Cell phones, social media and the internet all have one thing in common; they give the illusion of relationship without real commitment or real emotional connection. All of us, especially women, need real relationships with real people we love to be emotionally well. For all of our technology and science today, women are more love-starved today than ever before. Let's face it. Our society has lost something of major importance, and the more we struggle to replace it, the more elusive it becomes. That missing thing? Real love.

The good news is, that love is out there, if you will just have the courage to find it, and when you find it, to accept it. The kind of love that truly satisfies is the generous, unselfish, and faithful love that comes from God. How telling is it that the farther our society gets from God, the less love people feel and the more desperate they become? They are rejecting the very thing, the only thing, that can stop the madness and make everything right. This world is too hung up on itself to ever allow that love in the door - but individuals still can and still do find that love. When they find it, and when they accept it - they are saved!

Dust off your Bible and take a look at the women in the Gospels. What happened when their lives were touched by the Messiah? The stories are stunning. Their hearts were filled with love and their lives were forever changed. What they saw and encountered in Him energized those women in amazing ways. They adored Him, and in adoring Him, they became sane, powerful and profoundly amazing from the inside out, in that special way that only a woman can. Women were created to be givers, and so they are. What fulfills a good woman's heart more than anything is giving that which is most precious within herself. That wonderful womanly trait melts the heart of every decent man among us.  See, then, what happened with those needy women who were touched by Messiah. They not only received what they needed - they received more than they could ever imagine! They became empowered to give with an unending supply of love streaming through their hearts directly from the inexhaustible heart of God!

Truly saved women are awesome to behold!