Tim Russert, moderator of NBC's Meet the Press, was asked recently why the present generation had deviated so far from what nightly news anchor Tom Brokaw called "The Greatest Generation," referring to the men and women of World War II America. Without a moment's hesitation, the famed political news analyst said, "Too much me and not enough we."

Now there's an arresting thought. At some point we must have stopped singing, "Others, Lord, yes others. Let this my motto be: Help me to live for others that I might live for Thee." Instead, the new motto may be "What's in it for me?" It sounds very much like what a little girl wrote in her diary:

I gave a little tea party this afternoon at three.
'Twas very small, three guests in all: I, myself, and me.
Myself ate all the sandwiches, and I drank all the tea;
'Twas also I that ate the pie and passed the cake to me.

Instead of walking on the sunny side of the street, letting your smile be your umbrella on a rainy day, and singing how you'll never walk alone, the trend for some young adults is to isolate themselves by donning sunglasses (even at night) and covering both ears with audio phones that belt out rock rhythms with enough bass to drown out all other sounds. They avoid eye contact and never talk to strangers. They don't know the parable of the Good Samaritan or the Golden Rule, and most couldn't point to Jerusalem on a world globe.

It's true that no two generations are exactly alike, and there is plenty of reason to believe that the present generation will be all right in the long run, despite the concerns some of us have about their lack of discipline in the home and at school, violence on television, proliferation of video games that encourage mass killings of "the bad guys," school shootings, and the death of civility and good manners. But what enormous changes lie ahead for generations ignorant of the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount.

Nobody can turn back the clock or stop the onward flow of a generation that seems more interested in looking out for number one than looking out for each other. Nevertheless, there must come a time when courageous people will stand up like ancient Joshua who bucked the tide of his generation and declared, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15)
Those who honor God in their lives will remember that having a "me" attitude is contrary to the teachings of the Bible. God loves the world, and He expects his children to love each other as He loves them. He wants us to help each other, bear one another's burdens, pray for each other, honor one another, and speak well of each other. Charity, the greatest virtue, begins at home.

The current "me" emphasis, with its extreme manifestations that can erupt in road rage, is a far cry from what Paul urged believers when he wrote: "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. (Philippians 2:3–4)
Hasn't the time come to explore the Rabbi's meaning when he said, "So the last shall be first, and the first last"? And isn't the very heart of godliness contained in the scripture that says, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me"? (Matthew 25:40)

Too much me and not enough we is a dead-end street. But a caring concern for others is an open boulevard on which we can all get to where we're going together. Isn't that what the Father expects of his children? And what God requires of us?

James C. Bryant is an ordained minister and a frequent speaker who is currently Special Assistant to the President and University Historian at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. The author of several books and articles, he is the Chaplain of Yaarab Shrine Temple in Atlanta and editor of the Basharat, Yaarab Temple's popular monthly magazine.