It's been a while since I was around people with these kinds of habits, let alone called them my very dear friends. A while ago I didn't have any non-Christian friends. No, I was comfortably cocooned in my quiet little righteous bubble.
Sometimes I would wonder how different my life is from other 'non-saved' people and if I'm really making a difference in anyone's world at all. Normally these thoughts would occur to me at about 10pm just before I turned off the light and fell asleep, only to be forgotten in the morning.
But when you spend most of your time watching bands and artists perform live at clubs, bars and festivals, people with these habits are just part of the deal. And when you hear people say stuff like 'i haven't gotten laid in 4 weeks' or 'I might still be drunk from last night' ... you realise your lifestyle is very, VERY different indeed.
It's not always fun being the only Christian girl at the jol, often the only sober person, and therefore (most of the time) the designated driver.
Which lead me to wonder... Are there really so few Christians around? Or are most of them doing what i so often do ... Wonder how we can change the world from the comfort of our homes? Hey, maybe we can do it online? That way we won't even need to get out of bed!!?
Another thing i started wondering about, was whether or not me being there was even worth it. 'Is it enough for me to just be hanging around? Should i maybe have something really profound to say? A word of wisdom that i can just throw out there to make everyone question the meaning of existence and the significance of life?'
But if we're called to be the 'salt of the earth' ... then we should at least be around, right? How will people know we are Christians 'by our love' if we're never there? After all, nothing is going to get salty if the salt is kept far away! But that's what we expect isn't it? We think if we chuck out one liners or inspirational verses on social media people will suddenly understand Christ. That's why God used salt as a description, I'm sure... i mean, he would have had coriander back then. He definitely knew about it! But He doesn't want us to be some sort of garnish, or addition... to be chucked on right at the end. Or chili that just smacks people in the face with it's flavour and then leaves them to burn. No... salt is something that gets right in there, gets cooked and stewed and grilled. It's exposed to the heat, slowly but surely working it's way through, and eventually, gently, there's evidence of it's saltiness on everything it touched.
I'm obviously not saying that these other things don't have any place in the world. All I'm saying is, the majority of people out there are living very dangerous lives. They use sex and drugs and alcohol for everything from entertainment to medicine, and it's all fun and games until it's not. And when they realise it's not, they'll need someone to show them that they are loved something FIERCE, and they'll believe it, because we've been an example of it. Without ulterior motives and without judgement. Not because we want them to 'see the light', but because we actually care about them.
I stood looking at all these people. Drunk people. High people. 'Cool' people. I listened to their conversations... and all i could think was. 'Jesus, these people need you, and some of them probably have NO idea.'
We need to get over ourselves. We need to stop staying away. We need to get exposed to some heat and get our hands dirty because we're called to stay pure, not clean. We need to stop getting offended over every little thing, and we DEFINITELY need to get out more.
It's like they say... No one ever changed the world by never leaving the house
