I live in a neighborhood known for a really active nightlife, which is one of the reasons I enjoy it so much. I like the noise, the energy, that I can walk to a lot of places, there's always something going on, it's not the suburbs, it's unique to Dallas. But the irony is that I don't actually spend a lot of time living in it. When people who don't know me very well find out I live down here, they always assume that I spend my weekends at the bars. More often than not, I'm in the area of town where I used to live or at someone's house because many of my friends don't really like that scene.
I'd never experienced St. Patrick's Day in my neighborhood before; to quote Barney from "How I Met Your Mother", it was supposed to be "Legendary". It was definitely an experience, but I came away feeling sad more than anything else. I was surrounded that day by thousands of people openly and excessively drinking and yelling in the streets, and this was all before 4 in the afternoon. It was dirty, smelly, reminded me of New Orleans, another place that I love. I think my friend and I were made even more aware of it because we didn't drink at all that day, but even if we had been, I'd like to think that our behavior and enjoyment wouldn't have been determined by the amount of beer we drank.
I was thinking as I left my home yesterday evening (and seeing two guys peeing in my alleyway) about my role as a Christian in this environment. Why is it that I'm attracted to places like this that are just a little seedy? Jesus didn't spend all of His time in the temple with fellow believers, he was out with the tax collectors, lepers, and prostitutes that the Pharisees looked down on. By no means do I view myself on the same level as Christ, or want to feel holier compared to anyone else, because I am sinner too, but I wonder if that's why I gravitate towards these places. I see their actions and know there is something better out there to live for.
So as a follower of Jesus, how should I be ministering to the people who come to my neighborhood each weekend to get drunk and find someone to go home with for the night? Standing on the street preaching to people as they stumble by? How do I go up and try to start a real conversation with someone in a loud bar and not have it seem like a pick up or scam? And it's hard not to fall into their trap myself, it feels easier sometimes to just give up on my calling, join the crowd, and escape for the night.
I was reading Psalm 73 this morning.
"Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped…For they have no pain...They are not in trouble as others are; they are not plagued like other people...All in vain I have kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been plagued…If I had said, 'I will talk on in this way,' I would have been untrue to the circle of your children. But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end…Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you…But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, to tell of all your works."
God's Word brought me comfort. I know that the people I observed yesterday are in pain, troubled by this world as I am, but cope with temporary means. They are in need of Jesus just as I am. I don't understand yet how to make that known to them, but I am a missionary. I may not be in a third world country but I am still called to be a witness. I don't know what that's supposed to look like, but I think my first step is to be more intentional in prayer about it. What is God leading me to do here?
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