Another Monday and another English class! I was tired that day because I had driven up from Dallas that morning. Nevertheless, I successfully attended English class.
In class we went over examples of how to write a rhetorical analysis. I’m afraid that my rough draft that I had written over the weekend is not going to fit within the rhetorical analysis framework! Aaaaah! I hope it is but I will rewrite my paper if I need to. I guess that is the price I have to pay for doing my work on schedule! ;)
One of the more interesting parts of class yesterday happened both before and after class. When I walked up the group of my classmates talking before class, I was instantly wished a few belated happy birthdays. I was surprised people knew but you can thank Facebook for that. That was not the interesting part though. Somebody asked me if I was hungover from my birthday on Sunday. I answered no because I’m not 21 yet so I don’t drink. They then asked me if I drink at all and I said no. The ball started rolling downhill from there. A couple people were astounded that I don’t drink and a couple of peeps started cracking jokes at me. The big phrase they were throwing around was that I was a “straight edge”. I definitely had to look that one up on urbandictionary.com because I had never heard that slang before. After class, as I walked with two of my classmates to the other side of campus, they kept slinging the jokes. After awhile, they said they were kidding but the tone of derision in their jokes said otherwise.
It has been awhile since I have been made fun. Especially being made fun of for being a Christian. They may say that they were just joking. But honestly they were singling me out for being different. It made me think a lot about some things yesterday. Jesus said that his followers will be persecuted for their belief in him. I see it in the media a lot. Now some people do some real boneheaded things that have nothing to do at all with Christ or the Gospel. But I have seen some articles and stories that are posted just because the media wants to suppress Christianity. The truth makes them uncomfortable. It is rare though for me to see a dislike for Christianity on my level.
What Jesus tells me to do in this situation is simple but not easy to do. He tells me to love them. To do good to them. To bless them when they curse me. Simple but hard to do. Its at times like these that I understand a little what my Savior went through to bring me out of my dead life. He went through a ton more than I have but it still hurts to get made fun of. Their jokes also made me realize their spiritual deadness even more. They don’t get my life. The Bible says their eyes are blinded to the Truth. That the Gospel smells like death to them. My friends who don’t know Jesus will never understand why I live like I do unless God opens their spiritual eyes. They will think I’m weird. That I’m old fashioned. I wish they could see the life that Christ has given me. How I’m no longer empty and depressed. How I am more loved and accepted than I have ever been. Alas, they only see that I don’t drink and ostracize me. I wish they could see why I don’t drink. It’s because Jesus willingly gave his perfect life on the cross for me that I might receive the life that was fully his. So if he tells me that if I love him, I will obey his commands, then if he tells me not to get drunk then I will joyfully stay sober. Because his love is the best thing that has ever happened to this loser kid. I don’t think my classmates will ever read this blog. If you do, I forgive you.