Am I asking too much?

I’m at Starbucks, wasting my money and supposedly doing my lesson plans. I’ve been distracted by a number of things, not the least and most disturbing of which was a girl who walked in wearing only underwear. Ok, I exaggerate, but she was wearing a thin tank top, revealing … a lot, and a little pair of shorts that were practically underwear. She was going for maximum exposure. And there was a man sitting near me who was clearly captivated. And I gave him some sympathy – I mean, when she stepped out, she knew her ensemble was an attention grabber. But the sympathy ended when the man made no attempt to look away. He just kept looking back with absolutely no shame. He would look at his computer, then look back and stare at her panty. And I was getting annoyed – but not sure where to direct my disapproval.

I’m still not sure. I mean, I believe it’s justified disapproval (righteous indignation, if you will) because what really distressed me was the blatant lust neither of them made any attempt to conceal: his for her body, her for the attention. How do I know this was her desire? Trust me, I’m a woman. I know how we do. We deceive ourselves with thinly veiled justifications like – “oh it’s just so hot, that’s why I can’t wear any clothes today. Or, oh I just like looking good when I go out. I work hard to get this body. It makes me feel good about myself. That’s all”. Whatever. The heart of man – and woman—is desperately wicked. Do we even know what lurks down there? Hmph.

I do think this kind of thing should distress us a Christ followers – but usually my distress morphs into judgment and cussing people out silently. Then I have to repent. And then I have to pray for them. In the end, they’re both victims. I was wondering about that man, thinking, can he even stop himself? I’m not a man, but I can imagine it must be excruciatingly difficult for some men not to look at have naked women. I wanted to ask him, “I’ve noticed you stare at the backside of every woman who walks in the door. Do you feel you have no control over the gaze of your eyes and the impulses of your body? Would you like to learn how you can master your flesh rather than it mastering you?” But I knew that wouldn’t go over well. So instead I brooded about it. But isn’t that it, after all? The flesh indeed is a beast. What choice does this man have? Am I asking too much to expect him to exert some control? Maybe.

Then I thought about the men I do know, the ones with integrity, ones like my own biological brother and numerable other brothers in the Faith who’ve made a covenant with their eyes like Job not to look lustfully on a young lady. Their number one allegiance is not to their flesh but to their God. They are not controlled by their bodies but by the indwelling Holy Spirit. I like them. We need more of them around. Instead of cussing them out when a scantily clad lady passes, I am sooo happy b/c I notice how they deliberately won’t even look in her direction. That’s what I like; it makes me want to dance around, or throw them a parade, some kind of celebration in their honor.

So it’s not too much to ask. It’s very possible… for the redeemed. We need more of them, good men. Men who’ve met the Master.

And maybe we should introduce Him to the unacquainted.

Everybody take a jump!

My body is still aching because yesterday I was in the road jammin’ and jumping up behind a band. If you know Caribbean culture, you know I’m referring to Carnival – and if you know me, you should be wondering what I was doing jammin’ and jumping up behind a band.
Carnival is one of the biggest expressions of Caribbean culture. It’s a celebration full of color, music, excitement…. and revelry and drinking and wining and grinding. A lot of “rudeness” as island people say.

If you’re not still wondering what I was doing there….

The celebration is such that most Christians want to stay away, and understandably so. It’s not really a place where Christ is welcome. Yet on Sunday, a group of people in Orlando sponsored a Christian “band” (group that takes part in the carnival parade). We had our own truck, a DJ playing gospel reggae and soca, and costumes that reflected our theme, “The Fight of Our Lives”. We tried to rep Christ to the fullest in amid darkness. As one pastor stated, we were the one drop of water in a bucket of dirt.

We did our best to mix things up and we were distinct. Like others we were singing, dancing, blowing whistles. But there was no wining, or skimpy costumes, or men from our group grinding on random women ….and we were giving out tracts. But it’s true. We were but a drop in the dirty bucket and you wonder if we really made a difference.

I ask myself, what’s our job, really? Maybe our part is to rep Christ in the culture, to be a display of “holy culture”, to shine a light in the midst of darkness and to reclaim our culture. There are many who equate the revelry, the wild behavior and lewd dancing to “Caribbean culture” and represent it proudly. And while the love for celebration and dancing is intrinsic to the culture, those other aspects are distortions of it, expressions of man’s sinful nature and the enemy’s cunning.

Is it possible to have a Caribbean celebration, full of the joyful expression, the loudness, the music, the color and the dancing… without the nastiness? I think so and that’s part of what we were there to display.

I left convinced that we must do this again. We need to rep Christ to our culture more often, rather than retreating from these events. How that looks in the future, I’m not sure. Should we be in the parade or hold our own outreach near the carnival grounds (like His Majesty Sound System in the U.K). Maybe we need to have Christian Caribbean festivals. Whatever. But sitting back and watching the enemy hijack my culture is not really an option for me. I don’t appreciate being forced to have my little soca dance parties… in my room. Jumping and waving alone is no fun. Besides, we actually have something to celebrate. We know Jesus. We know freedom. Why aren’t we the ones jumping and waving our rags in public?

All I know is I plan on jumping and waving for Jesus when I see Him, so I figure I can get some practice now. You can sit and watch if you want.