Young
people of this generation are ready for a revolution. Written by the twin
brothers Alex and Brett Harris, Do Hard
Things calls teenagers to break free from the bonds of popular culture’s
low expectations and to do difficult things in order to reach their full
potential. Through the authors’ revolutionary message, they present a timely
book whose message today’s generation needs to hear. They use many scriptural
and historical references to support and illustrate their points. Ultimately,
their emphasis on personal application makes their strong message even more
pertinent to today’s society, as they give examples of modern young people who
have followed the harder path and list many ways for individual teenagers to follow
in their footsteps.
In
calling readers to rethink the purpose of the teen years, the Harris twins coin
a new term: rebelution, a combination
of the words rebellion and revolution, which they define as a teenage rebellion
against low expectations, or the concept of rebelling against rebellion itself.
Instead of rebelling against authority, Alex and Brett exhort young people to
reject what they call the Myth of Adolescence, or the idea that the “teen years
are . . . a vacation from responsibility” (13). This mindset essentially
deprives young people of necessary preparation for real, adult life, and it
keeps them from fulfilling the duties that God has given them. Focusing on a
personal rebellion against low expectations, the book then outlines the Five
Kinds of Hard, as they call this set of categories of challenging things, which
can help teens follow God’s plan for them more closely. These five
categories include things that take teens outside their comfort zones; things
that go above and beyond what others expect of them; things too big to
accomplish alone; tasks that seem meaningless and don’t pay off immediately;
and actions that go against the cultural norm. In the last part of the book,
the authors invite their readers to join the Rebelution, the growing movement
of young people who have begun to follow this better path.
Throughout
the book, the two authors enhance their message with scriptural and historical
references. The Bible verses that they weave throughout add weight to their
arguments and express some of the truths they try to convey in ways that no one
else could. For example, when debunking the Myth of Adolescence, they use a
verse from 1 Corinthians, where Paul states, “When I was a child, I spoke as a
child, I understood as a child, I though as a child, but when I became a man, I
put away childish things” (1 Corinthians 13:11). This shows that when young
people physically become adults, they should not linger on mentally and
spiritually in childhood. Again, Do Hard
Things cites as the Rebelution’s theme verse the one which says, “Let no
one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct,
in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12). Besides the
scriptural support in the book, Alex and Brett paint historical portraits
throughout the chapters, giving their readers patterns to emulate. In one
instance, the authors speak of Theodore Roosevelt’s life, focusing on his
childhood, when he overcame his asthma by doing the hard thing of persistently
exercising and building up his body. Additionally, George Washington, David
Farragut, and others took on enormous responsibility in their youth, long
before the concept of teenagers even existed.
Though
the Biblical and historical support for their revolutionary ideas could easily
stand alone, one of the greatest strong points of the Harris brothers’ book remains
its stress on personal application. All through many of the chapters, many
questions and lists help readers analyze their own lives and find out how to
put the book into practice. The authors ask questions like “In what areas have
I fallen short of God’s standards and my own potential?” to aid in identifying
personal complacency (101). They list common responses to hard things that
people do not feel like doing and ask if the readers can recognize these
reactions in themselves. They provide three “zone-breakers,” or truths that can
help in doing hard things that go outside one’s comfort zone. In addition to these suggestions, the book
gives examples of other young people and how they have applied the truths from
the book to their own lives.
Do Hard Things
presents a far superior and more rewarding alternative to the low expectations
of popular culture, one that can help teenagers to achieve their full,
God-given capacity of spiritual maturity. Today’s generation needs to take this
revolutionary message to heart, pondering the scriptural principles and
historical examples which support it and putting into practice the truths of
this book. Why can doing hard things bring more fulfillment? What does doing
hard things mean personally? This book can help readers discover the answer.
Resources
The
MacArthur Student Bible. John MacArthur, editor. Nashville, TN:
Word Publishing, 2000.
Harris,
Alex and Brett. Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations.
Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah Books, 2008.
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