Christian in the 21st Century: Relationships

When I was in Hong Kong earlier this year, I had two observations: 1. I stuck out amongst the crowd on Nathan Road in the heart of Mong Kok. No, it's not that my Cantonese ain't good enough, but because I just looked out of place, even if I am Chinese. My height, average in North America, was on the taller side in Asia, and on top of that, I had an AA hoodie over my Hollister t shirt, plus a backwards cap. Now that sort of fashion sense is kinda unseen in Hong Kong. 2. Relationships were everywhere. I stuck out being a single young male walking down the street. It's something I've noticed time and time again. Young people in Hong Kong are mostly seen to be in a relationship, holding hands, or kissing or other acts of intimacy. At the same time, it is also prominently noted in the media that sexual activity is on the rise, with pop culture influence and the lack of sex education in the city. It saddens me to know that so many of these young people are falling into moral sins, committing lustful acts and adultery.

It is also an undeniable fact that at this age, as we mature, the temptations increase and as humans are wired to make attachments, it is a time where young people begin to be consumed by attraction. Even amongst my high school friends, every time I see time, I notice more and more of them being in a relationship. Which isn't a bad thing. Relationships are designed to be made amongst people. I myself have flirted with a few potential experiences in the past couple of years. Up until recently, my concept of romantic relationships have very well been influenced by our culture, with an emphasis on emotions. It is through making and learning from the mistakes I've made that I truly begin to grasp what it means to have a relationship that truly reflects God idea of a relationship with the opposite gender.

Only lately have I realize that being a single can be a blessing. God does not necessarily call all of us to be in a relationship at the moment. Often, we feel pressured to be in a relationship because of our peers, the media or to culture. In fact, being single can be a time of joy and blessing where one may have an opportunity to grow deeper in love with our Father.

This year, relationships has been a topic of issue, and I have slowly and sometimes painfully discovered that being a Christian and being in a relationship is just about the most challenging thing, next to organic chemistry. In fact, many of what we perceive relationships to be about, influenced by our friends or movies and TV shows should not apply to a Christian relationship. The points I will talk about may see crazy to the world, but for Christians, it is practical to hold on on romantic relationships if these conditions are not met:

1. Honour God through your relationship. Most importantly, the relationship has to be God-centered. What does that mean, you ask? As Christians, Christ should be the centre of our lives, and this doubly applies to a relationship. This means that our focus should be on our walks with God, on establishing a healthy relationship with God first. Ultimately, God created everything. God creates for His glory. He created relationships and marriages. Each relationship should glorify Him. This means God comes first in the relationship ahead of your boyfriend or girlfriend. Your focus should not be solely on your bf or gf that you lose sight of Him. In fact, CS Lewis says that a "Woman's Heart Should Be So Close To God's That a Man Has To Seek Him To Find Her."

Moral of the Story is: Before you can get into a relationship with a member of the opposite gender, you need to have a healthy relationship with God first :)

2. Dating towards marriage. Nugh said. Pretty self-explanatory. This should be your ultimate goal in a relationship. With every word and action, this is what you're aiming towards in the long term. In Genesis, we know that God designed a relationship for one man and woman to be united as one flesh. If this is not what you have in mind for the prospective future, than I would have to question the time you've spent going on casual dates and where your relationship is headed. 

But for clarification, I'm not saying that you should go on your first date and ask the girl or boy to marry you. That would be plain creepy. (and i guarantee you the relationship won't last long)

3. Keep it holy and pure!

I think we all know the usual deal: no premarital sex, as God designed it solely for the pleasure of a married couple. But it doesn't just stop there. When you're in the relationship, are you speaking and acting out of lust or out of purity? In 1 Timothy 5:1-2, it says: 

“Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity." 

This is something that really hit me until recently, but is so true! Before you are married, your girlfriend or boyfriend is still your brother or sister-in-Christ! As Timothy points out, they should be treated with absolute purity. wow. Just because, they're your gf or bf doesn't give them a special VIP pass for being treated differently than to your brothers or sisters. All this sounds harsh, yes. But God wants us to be pure. Even "normal" acts of romance, as dictated by the world should be avoided. This is so hard for the 21st century Christians, as these acts of intimacy is defined by the movies, shows, and ads we see around us. Kissing, making out or other intimate physical acts would very easily bring you under temptation, leading to impurity and would most likely cause you to sin. 

2 Timothy 2:22 says: "Flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”

Timothy says, FLEE! That means RUN! GET AWAY! It doesn't say to approach it or how close to the boundary can I get. It says, flee.

Boundaries have to be set, kept and respected throughout the relationship.
This means both physically and emotionally. We are to guard our hearts for our future husband or wife. A healthy romantic relationship should watch that boundary or margin from a distance. For with moral sins, there is no yellow warning line to tell you to move back like on the subway platforms. Once you cross that line, you fall. HARD and in the line of danger and it will have unpleasant consequences. Just as you would keep away from the edge of the platform, a relationship should also observe its sexual/moral boundaries. Otherwise, you cannot honour God and be holy and pure when dating your brother or sister!

Being Christian in the 21st century: Ma Jesus bling.

No doubt, our clothes and accessories often outwardly defines us in the eyes of society. Many of these are based on fads and trends in pop culture. An increasingly popular trend based on my observation is the abundance of um, "Christian swag". From the "Jesus is ma Homeboy" t-shirts to Christian earrings to huge wooden cross necklaces going with gangsta outfits. Others would prefer tattoos of a cross or Jesus.

Many of my friends have  cross necklaces or are thinking of purchasing one. I used to have one as a child myself. I was pondering about getting one again. But that got me thinking....

What good is a cross around your neck? Yes, it identifies you to others that you are "Christian", but are you really?

Are you being hypocritical by wearing a reminder of your Lord and Saviour Jesus, but does not live like a Christian?

As Christians, we don't need a symbol of a cross on our clothes or jewelery to identify us as Christians. Our behavior  lifestyle and the words from our tongue should clearly display publicly as a testament of our faith to Jesus. 

Jesus himself said: Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." Luke 9:23

As often as we pick up our outfits and accessories everyday, do we pick up our daily cross? Are we willing to surrender to him, everything we have to follow Him? 

Now, don't get me wrong. I am not saying having a necklace or shirt displaying your faith is bad. In fact, I think it may be good at times. 

But let me leave with a word of advice, and I think it's the most important regardless if you wear or do not wear such items:

 Remember to take up your daily cross :)

Christian in the 21st Century: Tongue of a Serpent is Poisonous.

One of my biggest pet peeve is foul language. It's something that I have no tolerance for. It was something that I think my mother drilled into me as a kid in Hong Kong that even today, I cannot stand people that swears or use any inappropriate words as much as they use  "the or "a" in a sentence. First of all, using such words or language can be offensive and demeaning to someone. Second, what good is it to say something if it does not edify others or be constructive to the conversation.

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. " ~Ephesians 4:29

Such vocabularies are often associated with bad or negative connotations that only end up hurting people's feelings, making fun of people or things. Also, such words can also act as poison, as verbal words can sometimes sting more than a punch to the arm. I know from experience. Words hurt. It is because of the tongue of a serpent and his sharp and potent words that led to the fall of mankind. It is ever since then that mankind learned to use words in a sinful way. To lie, to curse, to make crude jokes.

Jesus says in Matthew 15:11, "What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.'"

Language can be so filthy, what comes from the tongue is unclean, and further reflects the person's heart.

"Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving." ~Ephesians 5:4

Every word that comes out of our mouths should edify and glorify our God. Obscene and unwholesome words do not accomplish this. I remember a Sunday School lesson back in grade 5 and my teacher had rebuked us on using the term holy so casually. I still hear him in my head saying that Cows are not holy. People laughed, but God's name and character should not be taken in vain.

But the biggest problem for teens today is that these words are all around us: in pop culture, TV shows, movies, songs, advertisements. It is almost impossible to shut your ears and eyes to these disgusting words.

 Lately, I feel like I may be succumbing to the norm of society. I catch myself saying or using words such as, "shoot", "darn", or "heck". At first, after using the word, I flinch a bit and it guilts me to have allowed it out of my mouth. Now, I know what you may be thinking...yo these are not swear words, nor are they offensive!

Yes, but they are not polite either, nor does it edify others or bring glory to Him, and I feel like as time passes, I am getting comfortable and do not feel bad about using such words. Hearing such words use to cause a chill down my spine. I am still exercising caution though on more obscene language that requires the use of &*%$#@ characters. However, I fear that if I am not careful, my tongue will cause damage one day. It is something that I am being more vigilant about these days.

As Christians in the 21st century, we are surrounded and often peer pressured to use words, jokes and slangs that are vile and dirty, and definitely not acceptable to the ears of God. Such words can only edify the devil, not Jesus Christ.

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer."  Psalm 19:14

Taming the tongue is hard, but it is vital that our lips are kept righteous!

Ball Pits are Fun!

dats not me btw! lol

Status: On the Brink of Extinction
Comment: With the emerging technological advancements in portable video game console, tablets, and phone game apps, it's no wonder the wonderful world of fast food playground areas (like McPlayplace) are fast disappearing. What served its purpose as keeping kids and parents alike at the fast food establishment for a few hours of fun adventures and the quest to conquer the terrible stomach growls now appear to be rapidly becoming extinct. McDonald's for instance had attempted to replace them with its own Nintendo gaming stations in the restaurant, but with little success in prying the hands of little boys and girls from controlling a jumping Mario on their little personal video screen. One of the few places that are still going strong, however, is the IKEA playplace. The ball pit bought me hours of joy and pretend swim in a sea of balls back in the days, around 1996-97.
Future: Extinction is imperative. It is unfortunately that my kids will not grow up knowing what a ball pit is.

Proud to Be Canadian! :)

Canada Day! A day to celebrate what this great nation is all about. A nation that prides itself in hockey, maple syrup, our double double and Timbits. A country only 144 years young, yet has advanced so much to make its presence known on the world stage. Since the day Sir John A McDonald took the rein as the leader of the Dominion of Canada on July 1st, 1967, this nation has grown from a small, insignificant former British colony to be the little guy amongst the big players in the world.
When the First World War rolled along, Canada, though small, showed that we are tough and belong in this world, defining itself as an independent nation, developing international recognition, united, having won a significant battle at Vimy Ridge. Canada proved itself again almost 20 years later in the Second World War with significant gains on D-Day in Normandy as well as the liberation of Holland. Today, Canada remains a small country, dwarfed by countries with bigger population and power. But we continue to show that we are a resilient bunch of people, a country that has made international presence through its peacekeeping missions, its contribution to technological and scientific advancements. Most of all, this country has shown its kind-hearted spirit and hospitality, a unique trait not duplicated by others.

Canada is a country full of natural beauty, and it is the towering mountains, the rolling prairies, the gentle lakes, the rocky coasts that reminds us of the splendor of our Creator's art. A country blessed with rich soils, majestic forests, plentiful fish, graceful birds, and wonderful animals.

But what Canada means especially to the 34 million plus that call it home is its multiculutralism and diversity. While coming home on the subway the other day, I couldn't help but notice the incredible experience. That got me thinking,  in what other country in the world would I, a Chinese-Canadian be able to ride a subway with British, Persians, Pakistanis, Indians, Chinese, Koreans, Brazillians, Mexicans, Africans and Greeks so peacefully and in complete harmony! Indeed, Canada is a welcoming country that offers rights and freedoms that many can only dream of elsewhere. Above all, we are a democratic nation, founded by the people, for the people, governed by the people. Now don't get me wrong: Canada is not a utopia. There is no perfect life on earth. When darkness fell upon this world, it has become impossible for us to be perfect people. But Canada is a world leader on human rights, havuing developed a constitution called the Charter of Rights and Freedom that offers fundamental rights such as equality, freedom of expression and freedom of religion, to name a few.

On this Canada Day, let's think about how blessed we are to live in the True North Strong and Free. We have food, water, shelter, and opportunities that some can only hope can become a reality for them one day. Let us take time to give thanks for His blessing, and celebrate what this great nation is all about.

Canada: 9,984,670 km² of land, 34 503 000 people, 180+ ethnicities, 308 federal ridings, TEN provinces, THREE territories, TWO official languages, ONE great country.

"May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth!" Psalm 72:8

Happy 144th Birthday to this nation! I can't wait until you turn 150! :)

God bless Canada!