Sunday 24 June 2007

staff parties

Thank God for the weekend. It's been fairly busy. I just wanted to blog about Friday night. Well, my work had an 'End of Financial Year Party' at a certain place in the city which I initially said I wasn't going to go to. But after much 'encouragement' from my work buddies and after finding out that the bosses were all attending and that work was going to pay for all the food, I decided to go for a little while. And in a way, I am glad that I did.

What actually happened was it was one of the girls' last day before her big trip overseas, and she had to stay behind to finish off some stuff. So another girl and I stayed behind to wait for her and we ended up driving down to the function instead of walking (bad idea on a Friday night - traffic was crazy). Thank God because during the long ride in the car, one of them started sharing about her love life and about all the losers she had been seeing through an online dating thing. I listened to her talk for a while, all the way just thinking about all the things I had read in the Boundless magazine and in the Josh Harris books, and after a while I piped up from the back seat and gave her some Christian words of wisdom!

After I had shared some near-direct-quotes from Boundless and Josh Harris, she looked at me through the rear view mirror and said something like 'that's really wise Ro' and 'that makes a lot of sense, I think I have been doing that'. I thank God for the wisdom that comes from such resources because when we share things like this to non-Christians, they can't help but acknowledge that the knowledge that is based in the Word of God is true wisdom.

The downside of Friday was actually going to the work function because it ended up being a really loud and crowded bar with lots of sleazy guys looking us up and down (what was gross was that we (or I at least) weren't even wearing anything revealing and were all covered up in work clothes). I really don't know why people like going to these places. I guess it's because it is supposed to be the cool thing to do, people just do it thinking that if they don't they will be weird or not-normal, but I reckon there's absolutely no fun to be had in such places - not for me anyways. Call me a prude, but I'm not going to say something is fun just because everyone else doesn't have the guts to say otherwise.

Work drinks is one of those things I reckon. My personal policy is to go for a little while to 'show face' and then leave once people start getting drunk (cos by then they won't remember if you stayed or not =) ). I feel that as a Christian, it is possible to come across as judgemental and too-good-for-the-rest-of-them if I say I'm not going to go to drinks on the principle that they will be drinking. I have told them how I feel about getting drunk etc (Ephesians 5:18) and they know I am a Christian, so I feel that now it is my job to be the Christian who is not like the Christians they have encountered before yet who is still fearful of her God and obedient to what is in the Bible.

It's a pretty hard thing to do, but when I see my buddies at work say things like I am different to other Christians they have met or that they knew a Christian once before who was 'not like you', I feel better that they are getting a different and hopefully more positive impression about Christians and that they are starting to see that not all Christians are like the ones that have put them off church before.

I do have a burden for my friends at work because I really feel they need something to live for and Someone to guide them through their life. I believe that as Christians, we all have a duty to be the lights of our workplaces, uni classes and families - to show them what Christ's love is like and to be the ambassadors for God that we have been called to be. I hope you guys reading this realise this too (I'm sure that you all do!) and that together we can start making a difference for Him.

No comments:

Sunday 24 June 2007

staff parties

Thank God for the weekend. It's been fairly busy. I just wanted to blog about Friday night. Well, my work had an 'End of Financial Year Party' at a certain place in the city which I initially said I wasn't going to go to. But after much 'encouragement' from my work buddies and after finding out that the bosses were all attending and that work was going to pay for all the food, I decided to go for a little while. And in a way, I am glad that I did.

What actually happened was it was one of the girls' last day before her big trip overseas, and she had to stay behind to finish off some stuff. So another girl and I stayed behind to wait for her and we ended up driving down to the function instead of walking (bad idea on a Friday night - traffic was crazy). Thank God because during the long ride in the car, one of them started sharing about her love life and about all the losers she had been seeing through an online dating thing. I listened to her talk for a while, all the way just thinking about all the things I had read in the Boundless magazine and in the Josh Harris books, and after a while I piped up from the back seat and gave her some Christian words of wisdom!

After I had shared some near-direct-quotes from Boundless and Josh Harris, she looked at me through the rear view mirror and said something like 'that's really wise Ro' and 'that makes a lot of sense, I think I have been doing that'. I thank God for the wisdom that comes from such resources because when we share things like this to non-Christians, they can't help but acknowledge that the knowledge that is based in the Word of God is true wisdom.

The downside of Friday was actually going to the work function because it ended up being a really loud and crowded bar with lots of sleazy guys looking us up and down (what was gross was that we (or I at least) weren't even wearing anything revealing and were all covered up in work clothes). I really don't know why people like going to these places. I guess it's because it is supposed to be the cool thing to do, people just do it thinking that if they don't they will be weird or not-normal, but I reckon there's absolutely no fun to be had in such places - not for me anyways. Call me a prude, but I'm not going to say something is fun just because everyone else doesn't have the guts to say otherwise.

Work drinks is one of those things I reckon. My personal policy is to go for a little while to 'show face' and then leave once people start getting drunk (cos by then they won't remember if you stayed or not =) ). I feel that as a Christian, it is possible to come across as judgemental and too-good-for-the-rest-of-them if I say I'm not going to go to drinks on the principle that they will be drinking. I have told them how I feel about getting drunk etc (Ephesians 5:18) and they know I am a Christian, so I feel that now it is my job to be the Christian who is not like the Christians they have encountered before yet who is still fearful of her God and obedient to what is in the Bible.

It's a pretty hard thing to do, but when I see my buddies at work say things like I am different to other Christians they have met or that they knew a Christian once before who was 'not like you', I feel better that they are getting a different and hopefully more positive impression about Christians and that they are starting to see that not all Christians are like the ones that have put them off church before.

I do have a burden for my friends at work because I really feel they need something to live for and Someone to guide them through their life. I believe that as Christians, we all have a duty to be the lights of our workplaces, uni classes and families - to show them what Christ's love is like and to be the ambassadors for God that we have been called to be. I hope you guys reading this realise this too (I'm sure that you all do!) and that together we can start making a difference for Him.

No comments: