Why does everyone try to be so funny all the time? Don't they get tired?

Maria

If you want a good time dancing on a Friday or Saturday night, I'd recommend Grand Central in Adams Morgan. I had a blast just dancing with my friends to good ol' Justin Bieber and the other top 40 company he keeps. And even in these moments where I just seem to lose my conscious thought to the bass and synth, I keep learning things about myself. Early on in the night, I met a girl named Maria. The first time I saw her was when I was trying to go downstairs to find the restroom. I found my way over to a balcony and when she saw me look over, she told me that "I wasn't going to get down that way". I laughed, made another joke, and proceeded to find the stairs. When I made my way back over to my friends, this girl is waiting for me. She puts her arms around me and tells me that she's in love. Now, I'm going to be forthright and say that this is the most physically attractive girl that has ever put her arms around me. When I think back on what happened, I cannot BELIEVE that I did not make any sort of move. But alas, after she relinquishes me from her initial grasp, I laugh and smile a bit more, and make my way back to my friends as if nothing happened. Why did I do that? I don't think it's because I have some insane self discipline and put my comfort in God enough to ward off all temptation. No, I think it's because I've historically been a manipulator and an opportunist. Even earlier in the night, I found myself briefly dancing with a girl who was wearing a leopard animal print dress, ugh. I had maybe twenty seconds of interaction with her before I bowed out and went back over to my friends. I wanted them to think, "wow, all these attractive girls want to dance with Albert". I used this brief twenty seconds of this girl's time to up my rep. And it was no different with Maria. I knew my friends were watching. All I needed to do was make it seem like she was more into me than I was into her and then walk away. In that moment, my pride peaks and I'm satisfied because I'm able to put my comfort in my idolatry. However, looking back on that night, I definitely should've gotten her number...

Bad Blogger Habits

Two writing style choices I see from most bloggers. 1. Frequent usage of parenthesis (in order to make a side comment for wit or humor that is often unnecessary and makes the sentence much more awkward to read). 2. Structuring their sentences in order to maximize emphasis on the subject but making the rest of the sentence afterward really hard to follow. Journalism is harder than it looks.

My Facebook is Wearing a Mask

I've noticed that my facebook's function is two fold. Trying to convince my friends that my life is fun through status updates or photo uploads; or contacting acquaintances I'd otherwise be to shy to or don't think I'd have enough to talk about with. Also, my grammar rocks for ending a sentence with a preposition.

God Is Merciful

It's the end of my undergraduate college career and I am just as weak as when I began. I did not have any moments of life changing victories. If anything, the impact of my weakness is more egregious now than when I started four years ago. This is not because my sin has become worse. No, I was always this person. This scum bag was always lurking beneath the surface. It is only because of grace that I can now see my sin. I can see the sin that is working in my life. I can see the sin that I must turn away from or it will destroy me. I'm still weak. I've been having more and more thoughts that say to me, "You would have had a lot of fun in those fraternities, drinking and partying and messing around with girls". And I think those thoughts are right. I would have enjoyed those things a lot. A lot. I don't know how I didn't end up in that walk of life. It seems like a natural thing that I'd want to be apart of. It is only because of grace that I was kept from my sin. I was kept from allowing that sin to work itself deeper in my life. I was kept from indulging in my sin and having it destroy me. I hope that God will keep me weak. I hope that he continues to show me my sin. It's deeper than I know. It's going to affect me in ways I never thought it could. But this weakness will not cause me to despair. In fact, if I was not weak, I would have no reason to rely on God. If I was strong, I'd live my life to the fullest, and without God, ultimately be destroyed. May I boast in my weakness. May I hope his strength, for it is made perfect in my weakness.

Is it okay to go clubbing?

I thought this one was easy. “If you have to ask, then it’s probably not a good idea”. The idea that I still hold true to now is that, if you’re looking to push the line, if you’re looking to see what you can get away with; you’re already wrong. Forget about whether what you’re asking is right or wrong. You’re already wrong in the question. The Christian life is not about doing just the right amount of things to gain you favor with the Almighty. It is about doing things out of a love for the God who has abundant grace, enough to kill is own son for the sins of the whole world and reconcile those he has chosen back into his family. It’s about loving the one who loved us first.

That being said…what if that’s not where you’re coming from? What if you have the correct intentions in asking? That you genuinely want to follow God and just are not sure from your own prayers and studies of the Bible. When I asked the question to myself, I wanted to make sure I was here. That I was on the path to following God and not on the path to attempting to justify the night I had experienced until 4:30 AM in Singapore. At the time, I didn’t know for sure because of how wicked I know my heart to be. But now on the flight from Shanghai to Chicago, that night much further behind me, I can honestly say that my answer right now is: it depends.

This is coming from one who used to think, why would you ever go there in the first place? You’re setting yourself up for temptation. There’s alcohol, there’s provocative dancing. Evangelism? There’s loud music booming in your ears, how can you expect to hold a conversation? Well now I’m thinking…maybe it’s not black and white in this particular way.

When I came back from Zouk that night, I was stoked. I had a blast. I love dancing and this was the place to do it. I’m surprised I hadn’t been to a club sooner in my life. Was there alcohol? Yeah it was mad expensive too. Was there provocative dancing? Was there temptation? Yeah. You’re correct again. Not where I should be right?

But God had a lot of grace with me that night. I didn’t get plastered. I didn’t dance in ways that led me to sexual temptation. I got to make a bond with someone I intend to see more of this semester and evangelize to (though I know it will be a challenge). I was able to make a friend over in Singapore who Asaph and I did eventually get to talk to about her thoughts on God and Christianity. All of this was through dancing. I barely spoke any words while we were there.

However, this doesn’t mean it will not be sin for me the next time I go. It doesn’t mean it will not be sin the next time you go. My point was that it’s not just automatically bad.

I was just reading “Think” by John Piper and on page 27 it says, “Thinking is not the goal of life. Thinking, like non-thinking, can be the ground for boasting. Thinking, without prayer, without the Holy Spirit, without obedience, without love, will puff up and destroy (1 Cor 8:1). But thinking under the mighty hand of God, thinking soaked in prayer, thinking carried by the Holy Spirit, thinking tethered to the Bible, thinking in pursuit of more reasons to praise and proclaim the glories of God, thinking in the service of love-such thinking is indispensable in a life of fullest praise to God.” Piper is saying that thinking can be good and it can also be bad. What makes it good or bad is its intent for God. I’ve gone from clubbing to thinking, I think you could pretty much replace “thinking” in those sentences with anything we do and it would be true. Reading the bible can be done sinfully just as sex can be done for God.

The intent is what is important. So how are our intentions? I thought after reading that passage, is every single step I take taken for God? Is every breath I breathe breathed for God? It’d probably make getting out of bed in the morning a little more meaningful.

Isn’t that really radical and crazy? Yup.