Six living generations are in America today. Each generation is marked by similar preferences, character traits, likes and dislikes, which have been formed by collective experience as they have aged. According to the Center for Generational Kinetics, “generations are not a box; instead, they are powerful clues showing where to begin connecting with and influencing people of different ages.” Defining where one generation ends and the next begins is left to sociologists who note significant shifts in “values, beliefs, and expectations.”

I’m a “Baby-Boomer,” meaning those who were born just after WWII (during a “boom” in the birth rate) until the early 1960s. The typical Baby Boomer (also referred to as the “Me” generation) is thought to be optimistic and driven, tends to be a workaholic, and isn’t shy about using credit cards.

Welcome Generation Z

Welcome Generation Z, the newest American generation, which are those born after 1996. There are over 65 million of you, and by the end of 2020, you will account for 40% of all consumers. The “smart” companies have you in their crosshairs. You’re optimistic about the future and 71% of you have Netflix accounts. More than any other generation, you are the streamers.

Having successfully navigated my own 20s, and having the wisdom and experience of six decades, I humbly offer my advice on the values, beliefs and expectations that sociologists say define you. I also realize I may have already lost you since the experts say you have an 8-second attention span. So, if you’re still reading, consider yourself an above-average Gen Z! (Just kidding)

1. Values

Values reflect what is most important to a person. According to Vision Critical research, Gen Z are savers, not spenders. Money is highly important to you, and you’re much more savvy about money and investing than Millennials (the generation before you). You’re also more intelligent shoppers who “are not seduced by high-end luxury brands.”

My advice to you regarding this is simple: always remember money is a wonderful servant but a terrible master. Jesus’ words apply here: “Don’t lay up treasure here on earth where moth and rust corrupt and thieves break in and steal, but lay up treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust corrupt and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19-20)

Values reflect what is most important to a person.

Practice biblical stewardship, which begins by recognizing that God owns everything, and we temporarily oversee part of it. Materialism and the love of money blinds us; the best way to break its power is by giving lots of it away. Most people only give from what’s left after they’ve spent on themselves. Your relationship to money says a lot about where you seek security and hope.

2. Beliefs

Over one-third of you identify as “atheist, agnostic, or non-religious.” The Barna Group data indicates, “Young people are drawing back from, if not running from, church as their predecessors know it.” If you’re in the camp of unbelief, I ask you to examine the assumptions that drive your skepticism. Neither the supernatural (i.e., “There is a reality that transcends the material world”) nor the secular (i.e., “There is no supernatural reality beyond this world”) can be proven empirically. They both entail faith. It only seems reasonable that you should be as open to questions and doubts about your views as religious people.

But let me also point you to what the Bible says about the root of unbelief: In Romans 1, the Apostle Paul says that in every human heart is the knowledge of God, but we suppress the truth about Him. Why? “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him….” (Romans 1:21) In other words, humans naturally recoil at the idea that we are dependent on God. We want to claim self-sufficiency. If we are grateful for God’s provision, acknowledging our complete dependence on Him, then we wouldn’t be in control. We couldn’t call our own shots. Rather, we’re obligated to listen and obey his commands, and we hate that. Examine your heart—could this be what’s really driving your unbelief?

3. Expectations

Generation Z, unlike the Millennial “utopians,” are pragmatic realists. According to Vision Critical, you “plan to live long and healthy lives, to be both locally and globally rooted, and to handle all advance transactions on a smart phone.” Roxanne Stone of the Barna Group says of Gen Z, “their highest goal for life is happiness, and when we asked them what that looks like, they pointed to pictures of people holding stacks of money.”

As I mentioned earlier, happiness can’t be found in money. Don’t expect to find in this world what can only be found in Jesus Christ. To do so only leads to disappointment and despondency. My final bit of advice comes from the wisest man who ever lived, King Solomon:

Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. Ecclesiastes 11:9