by Samuel W. Connelly

Created on: October 31, 2008

The late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. said,"If a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live." (Martin Luther King, Jr., speech, Detroit, Michigan, June 23, 1963.), and there is a lot of truth behind this statement.

Hop on your computer, open your browser, and type in the words; hopeless, lack of purpose', and
without personal beliefs', and you'll find a good many portions of articles that pop up deal with the issues of depression and suicide. Why? Because those three words or phrases put together are the ingredients for that which gives birth, in a person, a lack of reason to keep on living.

As a former youth minister for five years, I spent most of my weeks with high school students and college aged youth who were struggling through the most influential, emotional, and purpose hungry times of their lives. Statistics show that the second largest groups of people who commit suicide are young people between the ages of 15 and 24, with an average of one suicide every 2 hours and 12 minutes, according to Suicide.org.

Am I saying that without religion teens will commit suicide? Certainly not; I am showing the extreme end of teens who suffer from depression. Why? Because there's ample evidence that shows that young people who have no sense of purpose in life; no real reason to exist (other than breath, eat, and sleep) suffers life altering depression, which can lead to a future of bad choices, one being suicide, others being; inflicting harm to themselves or others, substance abuse, alcoholism, bad relationships, and a cycle of divorce.

It is a case of action and reaction, or more specifically: action, cause, effect, reaction.

Action:

Something happens that negatively impacts a youth Lack of parent(s) interaction or involvement, abuse (sexually, mentally, or emotional), neglect. A lack of praise, love, or affection received. It could be the child in the middle of an ugly divorce, or an outside crisis like a murder, robbery, abduction, horrible accident.

Cause:

The negative actions (within or outside of their control- usually outside of) creates within them a feeling of personal self worthlessness. They see themselves as not valuable, or not as normal' as others around them.

Effect:

They do not see themselves as able or worthy to be winners. Many feel that they can only fail, not accomplish goals or measure up to everyone around them. They feel that they can not make those they look up to proud of them.

Reaction:

They believe what they feel so they

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