Obama, McCain, Kanye West, Jesus

I was getting ready for bed and had already turned off my computer for the night when it hit me why I don’t care anything about Obama and McCain but feel connected with Kanye West or Jesus.  

Look at it this way.  Obama and McCain are out there struggling to sell themselves to you by any means.  They are trying to find that one hand hold on you and they will grab on and never let go.  For Obama it’s lowering taxes for the middle class, for McCain it’s energy indepence or whatever.  It’s not really important to the point of this post or to me.  And that is the point.  Their messages are so forced, that I can not relate to them.  I don’t really care, it is of little consequence.

Sure I will be met with some annoyances later in life–taxes, laws, other policies that I will have to abide by.  But it is a pitance compared to the influence the other two men have on me, and will continue to have on me.  Why is it they have such an influence you ask?  It’s because I can actually relate to them.  They aren’t out their ruthlessly promoting themselves, their message brings followers.  

Look at these quotes:

“Everything I’m not made me everything I am.” - Kanye West from his song “Everything I Am”

“What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.” - Jesus from John 3:22

Kanye’s can be looked at from a stand point of less is more.  He didn’t need to promote himself once his message was out there.  People just agreed with it and boom, he rocketed up the charts and now has an epic following.

The passage Jesus said from John 3, I like because it can be applied to politics of today.  Obama and McCain are just rehashing what they have seen and heard.  They try to force what they think the public wants into their message and hope they get some votes.  The problem is that everyone knows that not all the “change” they speak of will be acted upon.

For a message to be good, it needs to be simple and move people on the most primative level.  Politics will never be that, and I for one can’t relate.

Missions Projects

I was in church today.  And my mind was wondering.  Like it always does.  Maybe if I was good at skateboarding I would pull a double kick flip off the alter, or if it was covered in snow, try the rail with my snowboard, hey that girl over there looks really good, the minister is talking about something to do with Jesus, I’m really hungry, when is this going to be over, wait… is he talking about Indonesia?  Cool, I wish I could go there…

Today the sermon was all about mission trips and how they spread the word of Christ.  Yes, I am a Christian, but I have to agree with my father, at least a little bit when he said, “I don’t understand why we go over there and try and convert these people when they have a religion that is working for them already.  I wouldn’t be happy if someone came and tried to convert me.”  I mean, it makes a lot of sense.  I wouldn’t want someone coming up to me and trying to tell me the benefits of becoming Hindu or Buddhist.  Why are we going and medling in their lives?  It is one thing to talk to a friend who has lost their way, it is another to try and convert someone who already is happy.

But herin lies the problem.  In Christianity you are supposed to share the word of Christ.  Become “fishers of men” if you will.  You are supposed to go out and spread the word.  But to what extent?  No one put guidelines in the Bible that says, “Go out and talk to people who are willing to hear the message and are not already set in their ways.”

I don’t have a problem talking about religion with people who are naturally curious, people who I deem need guidance because of lack of religion, or people I’ve known for awhile and just want to argue about religion.  I wouldn’t have a problem going over to countries to do service projects–build houses, do physical labor, help out, whatever.  But I don’t want to go over and be like, “Hey, I built you a house.  Now listen to me grill you about Christ and what he’s done for you, for half an hour.”  I would be more comfortable with going over and building the house and then leaving some literature about what I stand for.  Sure through the grace of God, people will read it and formulate their own ideas.  I just gave the initial bump.

…maybe they will let me go and I could take photos of the projects, I want to get out of here early so I don’t have to wait in all the traffic, what was I watching on T.V. last night, where did my iPod go?, whoa someone is texting me, pass the offering plate, oh yeah I was watching SNL, wow that girl still looks good…