Sunday's Journal Entry

This is more or less exactly, word for word, what I was writing about on Sunday by myself. I don't have a scanner and my writing can be a little scary to read; thus, I type it out.

7/1/07
We all live in giant mansions. We don't realize that the very way we live is sin. We hide inside of TV shows, video games - the alternate worlds that these provide give us an escape from the good we could be doing in this world. They let us avoid getting out of our comfort zones and let us avoid those things people and situations that would make us feel guilty for how we live. Especially people though. We don't want to be around people whose very lives are proof that our decadence is sinful and wrong. My generation also hides inside of drunkeness and the stories that come from it. A whole culture has developed from parties and getting hammered. It's false, and creating a miniature fake world where adventure has become what crazy things we did while we were drunk. That's not adventure. Adventure is doing something crazy that God has asked us to do, and trusting Him the whole way through.
I am scared for the millions of people around the world who are trapped within that culture. Drama with friends or boyfriends and girlfriends makes this mini world seem more real, but it's not. There is no need to hook up and have sex to make you feel beautiful or more of a man. There is emptiness in this lifestyle that keeps getting temporarily filled by more sex, more beer, more vodka, more parties, getting high just one more time... it's all temporary bliss and requires a constant suppley to maintain a feeling of happiness that prevents guilt from seeping in.
Guilt is normally bad, but is sometimes the only way, or only signal that we need to change our ways. The culture today doesn't want to stop and think about who they are and who they're becoming. When they do think about it, bitterness and pessimism cloud their thoughts and make them lose all hope for the world, diving them into the culture I've been describing. It sucks.
Jesus provides us with a bridge into the real world, so that we can live a real life and make real lasting change in the world - Life and Life to the Full. When we allow the Holy Spirit to guide our lives, we have the power to do incredible things in this world. If we don't fear the unknown, the different, the awkward (and yes, so many of us fear the awkward), then Jesus will make our lives the most real and full that they can possibly be. Thanks be to God.