OK, now I appreciate those online novel authors who can actually put up with 3000+ words/day (in Chinese too, which means it probably has more content than 3000 words in English), that’s commitment.  Oh well so let’s get on to part 2.

So one night in our family vacation we’re just driving on State St. in Santa Barbara (to eat some really expensive dinner), then we noticed that’s there’s pockets of crowd at specific area of the street.  My dad asked Justin what are they doing, Justin replied, “Oh they’re congregating at bars, and probably watching UFC (unlimited fighting competition)”.  He then mentions that several leaders of his church watches UFC regularly too, and he is disturbed by that fact.  He once questioned them, but they just replied him with “Jesus parties with the sinners”.

My brother is troubled, because he never felt comfortable doing things that other Christians do without a thought (one “famous” example being going to Prom).  But they sounds right, because Jesus DO “party” with the sinners, and his first miracle ever is to make wine for a wedding party.

Then all the troubled goes away when my dad replied, “next time they say that again, ask them: ‘Jesus parties with the sinners, then the sinners repented and turned back to follow Jesus.  What happens when you party with the sinners?’ “

Yes, the Bible teaches us that we can do all things because we’re freed by Jesus Christ from the chains of sin.  But Paul also mentions that not all things are good to our spiritual growth.  Furthermore, quoting Pastor Tong again, said in context of his predestination sermon, “What’s the purpose, then, of our free will? The only use of our free will is to willingly take up our freedom, and offer it as a burning sacrifice to our Lord.”  Paul also mentions that before we’re slaves to sin, but now we’re slaves to God.

And now that we’re slaves to God, shouldn’t we plan our time carefully, and do what he pleases? Shouldn’t we fulfill our responsibilities first before we go do things that simply pleases our fresh, and even if we do, shouldn’t we try do things that benefits ourselves and aids us in one way or another (like playing chess.  Ooo I miss those days), instead of, for example, watch two men fight to the death because sadly that’s the only way they can make for a living, and amuse ourselves over it?

When my brother got in UCSB and decided to go there, he made 4 promises.  1) never drink alcohol 2) never do drugs 3) never go to parties 4) never get a girlfriend.  Why does he made those wishes? Because he feels a calling from God to be Holy in a place where human lust runs free.  And he did kept those promises, and we do start to see the blessings of God in his life (although right when he starts bragging about keeping those wishes, my dad owned him by saying in college he never goes to any movies too).

I’m not saying that everyone should be like my brother.  After all, some of these promises should only be made if there’s special calling from the Holy Spirit.  But his attitude is worth following: that is, being a Christian should be a more serious thing than most of us take it to be today.

But what entertainment is worth doing? I think what my dad said is excellent: “If you cannot pray to God right after you did something, than you probably should do it.”

The last thing I’ll talk about is the Jesus’s first miracle thing.  This story is probably the most misunderstood and misused story in the Bible.  People just use it and say, “Hey, Jesus party too, Jesus drinks too, why shouldn’t we?”

But there some important points to observe in this story:

1) Jesus’s mother actually knows that the wine is gone before the guy who prepares the feast does (you can tell from the dialog later).

2) The wine is gone.  What kind of man will ever be so sloppy that on the most important event of your life, the wine is GONE? Do you know how bad this make you look?

What do those points imply? 1) implies that Mary probably is HELPING the people to cook and handle things and stuffs.  Who will ever let a guest prepares your wedding for you? 2) implies that the bride groom probably knows that there’s a shortage of wine, but decided to put up with it.

What am I pointing at? THE BRIDE GROOM IS PROBABLY POOR; he cannot even supply enough wine for his wedding, and possibly can’t even hire people to prepare the wedding too, that’s why Mary has to help.

This is not a “Damn, we drank all the wine, let’s have some more so we can get more drunk Jesus!!” scenario, this is Jesus saving a poor man from embarassment and giving him a wonderful experience and memory about the most important day of his life.  Jesus do not go to those parties that the rich people throw everyday, he go to those socially rejected people and comfort them.

Tony Campolo preached against Prom.  He says “Prom is a place where the popular, pretty, talented, and rich kids shine.  The socially rejected and the poor either cannot afford the cost, or they simply cannot have a good time at prom.  Shouldn’t we as Christians bring comfort to those social outcasts like Jesus would do, instead of going to hang out with those successful people?”  I have to say I completely agree.

May we all stay loyal to our responsibilities, and before we entertain ourselves may we take a moment to think about the value of what we’re doing (In response to Joseph’s post a while ago, I do watch Saturday Night Live on hulu occasionally before, and I think it’s okay; just turn it off when you start feeling uncomfortable.  That’s why I watch it on hulu; you can just watch portions that you are comfortable with).