Bible and Ballin.
It’s what we call our outreach ministry at my church for high school aged kids. We’ve been doing this thing for a while now, and I have some observations. Most of the kids that come are commuting by foot from the apartments around the church. A few of them are white, but mostly black. Today I noticed some serious respect issues. I feel like I work hard to make a nice environment for these kids to escape to, away from their broken homes and same ol’ same ol’. We set up all these game systems for some crazy rock band sessions, we buy and ice down a bunch of soft drinks, not to mention the pizza we buy them every week. Even still, there is a serious lack of respect. They come in yelling “Soda? Where’s the soda at?!” It’s come to the point where these kids are numb to the hard work and money we put into making their lives just a little bit more eventful. They’ve come to expect what is not rightfully theirs.
Now that I’m thinking about it, I do the exact same thing every day. This past weekend I went to visit the grandparents in Paris Texas. When we returned home, the air conditioning was out. I EXPECT that ac to be one when I go to sleep at night. I “can’t sleep when it’s hot.” That’s what I tell myself. False. I did it for a week when I went to Mexico last month.
When I go to work, I expect their to be coffee in that pot. I imagine if I were to walk in and it not be there, I might have a neurological break down.
I expect to have wireless internet in my house. Whenever it goes out, I find myself not in the greatest of moods.
So just like the kid that expected a soda when he came to the church was wrong, I’m wrong right along with him. That works out on the grand scale of things. We are a fallen race, and are all imperfect together. That’s the beauty of Christ and the hope that he brings.
“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”
