Jordan Neighbarger: Jordan Neighbarger hopes to give valuable insight on what it is like to live as a teen girl trying to confidently live out a godly lifestyle in today’s society. She is a current high school senior at OakTree Academy and is a part of the student praise band. She has grown up at London Bridge Baptist Church and has plans to go into women’s ministry full time after college.
Loving someone—when we have every reason not to—is arguably the hardest commandment God has given us. For Generation Z, it seems like we are being pulled in a million different directions when it comes to whom we should support or whom we should “cancel,” but as Christians, we are called to love everyone no matter who they are or what they have done. However, I’m not going to lie, it really is not as simple as it seems. But we need to lean on the Creator of the Universe for strength because He doesn’t want us to go through this life alone.
These next two tips will challenge you as mentors and us Gen-Z girls to love like Jesus did.
Tip #4: 2 Peter 1:6-7 says, “And steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection.” Our generation is surrounded by sex, drugs, and money, which are so far from godliness, so what does it look like to be godly in a generation that is the antithesis of godliness? Well, guess what! Jesus became human to live among the sinful so that we could have a perfect example of how we are to live our lives in a godly way. So we can literally ask ourselves, “WWJD?” Jesus responded to every situation with love, no matter where He was or to whom He was speaking. He always did everything out of love. 1 John 3:18 says, “Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other, let us show the truth by our actions.” Brotherly affection comes in when the situation isn’t so easy; sometimes the truth is not what we want to hear, but the truth is what sets us free. Mentoring isn’t always saying the right thing, but it’s living it out. Our actions really do speak louder than words.
Tip #5: 2 Peter 1:7 “And brotherly affection with love for everyone.” Teen girls are pretty judgmental to begin with, but I feel like the comparison from social media has caused us Gen-Z girls to put everyone under a microscope. This causes us to pick and choose our friends and whom we love. But that is not what God has called us to do. 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 says, “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.” While mentoring a Gen-Z girl, this verse is so important to refer back to. I promise you that this verse will answer so many questions!
I hope that these five tips offer some guidance on how to react in some pretty tough situations. I love sharing what it’s like from my point of view as a teen girl trying to find herself in Christ and sharing even where I need help. I pray that as Christian women, we remember that we are never alone. God is surrounding us in every situation, fighting our battles for us, and He loves us.
To read the first three tips, visit How to Minister to a Gen-Z Girl From a Gen-Z Girl (Part 1).