Other World

Last night Christina and I went to VA Beach to see Rascal Flatts in concert to celebrate Christina's completion of OT school. I surprised her by renting a red mustang convertible that we cruised down in. I had never been to a concert that wasn't either Acappella or a Christian band so I wasn't exactly sure what the atmosphere would be. Because Rascal Flatts is a clean band and they sing songs with good messages, I expected the concert atmosphere to be pretty tame and mellow. So I was surprised to find myself feeling so out of place.

When we arrived nothing seemed odd. Sure there was the guy walking in front of us bragging to his friends that he had to pee because he'd already had five beers.

'Not that big of a deal,' I thought to myself. 'It IS a country concert.'

Then when we walked into the Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheatre, immediately to our right was a Skoal stand that was apparently giving out free samples of Skoal snuff if you signed up for some kind of give away.

'Again, not a big deal,' I thought. 'It IS a country concert.'

As we made our way around the big hill to the ramp up to the lawn, we saw a myriad of beer and margarita stands.

'A little much,' I recall thinking to myself. 'But it IS a country concert.'

We were lucky to arrive as early as we did, because we managed to find a patch of grass that was big enough for us to spread our blanket and stretch our legs out. Most people arrived too late and they either had to stand at the very back against the fence or squeeze themselves uncomfortably close to those of us that already conquered our plot of land. This was the case for the four girls to our left, and the three girls plus a guy to our right - all of whom were smoking.

Smoking - Is it a sin? Does it make God angry? I honestly don't know. I do know the groups of smokers infringing on our blanket space were probably too young to be smoking, which would seem a little un-Christ-like.

I don't think it's necessarily a sin, but I do think it's a poor way to care for the wonderful gift God gave you that is your body. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians, "Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit..." Sure he's speaking of sexual immorality, but the idea is still the same.

Honestly, it wasn't the smoking that had me feeling weird, out of place, at the concert. The underlying cause of my discomfort was the feeling that I just didn't belong there.

Perhaps it was all the girls showing everything for their upper thighs down. Perhaps it was the performs singing about getting so drunk you can't remember your name, or where you are, or who you're with. Perhaps it was ALLLLLLL the cussing I heard. I think it was a combination of it all.

Those outside the Christian faith would probably call me 'Sheltered.'To some degree that's true - I don't really see a lot of non-Christian behavior on a regular basis. But that's by choice, not by force. So when I am in an environment that does not appear to be overly concerned with the presence of God, I feel a little out of my element.

The church in Corinth found themselves wrestling with the same feelings. Paul refers to himself and the church in Corinth as those "on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come." (1 Cor. 10:11) They were caught in limbo between the Old covenant that isolated God's people into one nation and the New Covenant through Jesus that broke down all walls and borders and welcomed everyone into the Kingdom. And, of all places, Corinth was NOT the best place for a floundering Christian church to to be. It was certainly a hot spot for un-Christlike behavior. So part of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians is a reminder that "He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1:8)

I often hear differing views on what our relationship ought to be with "the lost." There are those who say that Christians ought to remain separate from unbelievers, keeping ourselves pure and focused on all things holy. There are also those who say we should spend as little time together as we can so that we have more time to be with "sinners."

Here's what I know:

Last night at our concert I was longing for my Christian brothers and sisters. Yet I also have a heart for the lost. There was a woman in her late 30's or early 40's in front of me in a concession line bragging to her daughter and daughter's friends about how much beer she drank at her last concert. Instead of being appalled I felt genuine sorrow for her and those girls listening. And while those trying to steal a corner of our blanket on the lawn were a bit annoying, I certainly felt a level of compassion for them because they were clearly not out to be a light for Jesus that night.

I think we must go about living our lives with an awareness that we are of an "Other-Worldly" kind. We truly are aliens in this world. I think it was a good sign that I felt so uncomfortable in that setting. Yet it was also good to be aware of and compassionate toward those who didn't appear to be living for Jesus.

There truly is another world that we live in while here on earth. We MUST keep our selves and our identity in that world, while we go about living in the physical world. Living in "that" world means living with compassion toward those who don't yet know of it; it means living with the freedom and joy that comes from serving an all-sufficient Savior; and it means living with a desire to be holy - set apart from the rest.

Maybe this concert was a good thing for me after all.