I want you to think for a second about your reaction to a few situations. The first situation is that you get instantly sick and throw up all over the couch at your friend's house. Most of your friends are there, and you are not sure how your stomach could have held that much food. How would you feel? On the flip side think about what it would feel like to be an onlooker. One of your friends just yacked all over in the midst of a good summer hang out. How do you feel for them?
The typical response if the person didn't feel good, is embarrassment. You would feel sad or embarrassed for them or for yourself. If it was you, you might feel ashamed for eating too much. Needless to say there would be no enjoyment out of that situation. People would help and ask if the sick one was feeling better the next day.
The next scenario I want you to imagine is a bit less realistic. You get a phone call one day and the person says, "take off your clothes and continue your normal daily routine."
You laugh and say "yeah right." Then a bullet hits the door next to you and you hear again, "you have embarrassed the wrong person, now you will be embarrassed."
So for the sake of your life you do as they say. You walk into work or school naked. Any time you hesitate a bullet hits nearby, reminding you of the sniper's presence. Sheer terror flows through your body, yet you are completely ashamed walking around like that. Again you most likely would feel embarrassed.
So what do these analogies have to do with anything? How can I possibly tie this back to the topic of community that we have been talking about? Simple...
Add one thing to the puke story and it changes everything: alcohol. Shift the setting of the second story, make it streaking because you are drunk and someone dared you. All of a sudden the situations become funny, entertainment, and the event of the weekend. One way is horrible. The other is normal. So why do people find it ok to do those sort of things at parties? These acts of individuals, if done sober and in public, would be considered awful.
Drunken parties are a community. People have a deep desire to be part of community. These arenas where you can do whatever you want and blame it on alcohol are perfect for anyone to feel accepted. The shyest person can show up to a party, get trashed and become popular (whether good or just the butt of jokes) with one stupid act. People desire non-judgmental community. You cannot judge others when you are doing dumb things too. But God intended us to be non-judgmental in Christian community. We must show the world they don't have to do shameful things in order to be accepted. "
"Judge not, or you too will be judged." Matthew 7:1
The typical response if the person didn't feel good, is embarrassment. You would feel sad or embarrassed for them or for yourself. If it was you, you might feel ashamed for eating too much. Needless to say there would be no enjoyment out of that situation. People would help and ask if the sick one was feeling better the next day.
The next scenario I want you to imagine is a bit less realistic. You get a phone call one day and the person says, "take off your clothes and continue your normal daily routine."
You laugh and say "yeah right." Then a bullet hits the door next to you and you hear again, "you have embarrassed the wrong person, now you will be embarrassed."
So for the sake of your life you do as they say. You walk into work or school naked. Any time you hesitate a bullet hits nearby, reminding you of the sniper's presence. Sheer terror flows through your body, yet you are completely ashamed walking around like that. Again you most likely would feel embarrassed.
So what do these analogies have to do with anything? How can I possibly tie this back to the topic of community that we have been talking about? Simple...
Add one thing to the puke story and it changes everything: alcohol. Shift the setting of the second story, make it streaking because you are drunk and someone dared you. All of a sudden the situations become funny, entertainment, and the event of the weekend. One way is horrible. The other is normal. So why do people find it ok to do those sort of things at parties? These acts of individuals, if done sober and in public, would be considered awful.
Drunken parties are a community. People have a deep desire to be part of community. These arenas where you can do whatever you want and blame it on alcohol are perfect for anyone to feel accepted. The shyest person can show up to a party, get trashed and become popular (whether good or just the butt of jokes) with one stupid act. People desire non-judgmental community. You cannot judge others when you are doing dumb things too. But God intended us to be non-judgmental in Christian community. We must show the world they don't have to do shameful things in order to be accepted. "
"Judge not, or you too will be judged." Matthew 7:1
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