Let's BLOG "First Come, First Serve" The New Generation

Times are a' changing.  This I know.  I hold onto what little girl values I have and hold onto them tight because in today's world those morals are being replaced with self worth.  Self-indulgence.  And a pile of possessions.

Maybe you've heard these quotes:

You have to do what makes YOU happy.

YOU come first.

Or maybe you've seen a child sporting this shirt around town:

That shirt might even be all bedazzled up with neon brights and glitter galore.  Not just to make it more appealing on the store rack, but to make that quote be the first thing you see walking down that hallway.

More and more our generation is all about 'first come, first serve. ' That being OURSELVES.

Used to be "ladies first" and eventually "women and children" first.

Now it's most likely for he, himself, and him.

There's hardly a door open for anyone else.  Hardly an 'excuse me' or 'pardon me' when you're being pushed or shoved down an aisle or sidewalk.  And I can't remember the last time a man sitting in a pew at a church has ever offered their seat to a woman.  I've even seen men stretch their arms out as far left and right as possible and behind them, stands a pregant or elderly woman.

Why it's FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE. It doesn't matter that that elderly woman with the cane took some extra time to arrive at the church.  Her eyes don't work as well as they used to and those streets are dark.  It doesn't matter that the pregnant woman has two other children at home and had to bundle them up on Christmas Eve and strap them in their car seats in the snow.  It's FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE and if that man found his family a seat and there's room for his two teenage sons, they OWN that pew and the only thing they are moving for is to receive communion - the body of Christ, that is.  The acceptance that you are willing to accept Christ in your heart and live through him.

It's the FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE generation.

Watch a line at an amusement park, a snack bar, or a ticket line.  Watch how many people CUT a line and give the excuse that they are "joining their family."  And in joining their family, they bring along a crew of five or more people.  If their family arrived FIRST, the latecomers believe they have the right to be SERVED FIRST as well.


Watch those crowds on Black Friday.  Someone would just assume stampeding through a crowd, possibly trampling over one another just to be FIRST for that new gadget or twelve foot long flatscreen television.  No different than the brides steam rolling one another at a Filene's Basement for that discounted dress or the maul of mothers that become female wrestlers when those Cabbage Patch dolls hit the shelf.  Dolls have changed but those moms are still alive and thriving.

It's FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE and you best have on your running shoes.

We don't want to face it because we all know it's NOT what we truly want for our children.  We fear it.  But we as a generation fear worse that we can't CHANGE it, so instead of setting an example, we teach our children COPING strategies to deal with society and its impulsive ways.  It's like we know we are waging war and we are training little soldiers to succeed in the Battlefield of Greed.

It's not always that evident, but look for the symptoms:

It's Field Trip time, and the first parents to sign up, get to go. 

It's a movie premiere and someone has saved an entire row for late arrivals.  Might as well share the FIRST SERVING if you send someone ahead.  Even if that someone has no other responsibilities but their own.

Flyers and contests that state "the first 100 customers..."

First come, first serve is not just a trend.  It's a ICON.  

Whether it's an airline's policy to not sit small children with their parents because they weren't there first or those flight ticket prices going up the later you buy, it's still FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE.

There are times that call for a race.  There are times when someone MUST come in first.  An Olympic track event, a sports championship, a job interview.  But even their race was a JOURNEY.  That trophy did not come fast.  It came STEADY.

What makes us separate from other mammals is our cognitive thinking.  If we all lived the first come, first serve we are no different than other species.

 If we don't start serving only those that come first and giving them their fill and more, there will be no second, third or tenth place.  Our children will learn you must be FIRST to succeed.  You must be FIRST. Not hardworking or patient or even responsible.  Just be FAST.  Because in today's world, there's no time for customer service.  It's a SELF SERVE kind of world.

For those of you opening a door, sharing a seat, offering someone help up an icy staircase instead of getting inside first, may your children grow up to be as SELFLESS as you are.  Let them come in second.  Or sixty-third for that matter. Finishing last to let someone go ahead won't always get you the best serving.  It won't even get them FIRST PLACE.  But it will absolutely make them FIRST CLASS.