Where do you draw the line? Once I get into this topic I am discussing, you would think this would be an easy question to answer. Well most of my readers probably would. This topic I am about to write is something that lays heavily on my heart due to several reason and is often hard for me to talk about. I have had conversation about this topic with other Christians, but yet I often still question, "Where do I draw the line?" So I'm sure by now you are trying to figure out what I'm talking about? Let me break it down for you. I have always been raw and truthful in my blog, so if I say something to shock or offend any of my readers, please know that I truly am writing this from what God has placed on my heart.
Last night after attending a fun Christmas party with friends, I then decided to go out afterward to a local bar in my hometown. Since moving back, I have stayed clear away from places like that in fear that people may look at me differently and being in the position I am in, I don't want to give off the wrong impression. Do I believe I can go to a bar and still hold to my Christian values and standards? I absolutely do. Do I think there is a point in going to a bar as a Christian? There is where I ask the question, "Where do I draw the line?" People use this crutch a lot but for me it is often a valid point. Jesus went to the lowest of the lows to reach out and share God's love. He meets us where WE are so that we can come to know Him. As His followers and Him being our example, what does that mean or how does that look for us? When I walked in, I saw several people who I went to high school with. Some in which I have not seen since high school. Several of them looked at me and said, “Hannah? This is not your kind of place?" And for the most part they were right. Knowing the person who I was in high school, anything that had to do with drinking was not my kind of place. Little do my high school classmates know, while I lived in Charleston, I had no problem going out to a bar. The funny part is, my faith and my relationship with God have matured and become way more prevalent in my life while in Charleston than it was in high school. I was the "goody, goody" in high school. I was the typical little "Christian" girl. I'm quoting the Christian part because I don't believe that I truly knew what it meant to be a Christian then, but I knew how to play the part. So you would think that I would be way more prone to go out in high school than in my Charleston days? Right? I would often judge and disassociate myself with the people in high school who were partied. I would not have said this back then, but now I realize that my attitude towards them gave me a stone heart against them. Instead of being the hands and feet of Jesus to these people, I could have cared less where they spent eternity. And my friend, that is not a Christian. That is probably the hardest thing for me to admit, but as I have said earlier, this is going to be a very raw post.
So the question still remains. Where do I draw the line? In high school, I still would not have suggested for me to go to parties where there was underage drinking. That is not what I am implying at all. But as a mature adult, I am now legal to go to these places where people seem to need Jesus the most. Just to clarify, this is most certainly not directed to anyone that I saw last night. I do not know where people stand with their faith and I most certainly do not have the right to assume. I'm simply discussing my observation last night. Is the bar scene truly a place where I think I can reach people? Would meeting them where they are having a beer with them only distort and confuse the person whom you are trying to bring to Christ? Is it too far fetch for me to assume that I could actually be the light of Jesus in a bar where temptation is so prevalent? My heart now cries out for these people instead of being stone cold towards them like I was in high school. I truly care for them. I want them to have the satisfaction and joy that I have found in my Christian journey. I want to try and meet them where they are just as Jesus does to share God's love and grace with them. I truly have a love for people and I know that only comes from God. I am not saying that I want to become a "bar hopper?" Absolutely not. In my opinion, I would be using God as an excuse to make myself feel okay doing so and that is not what I am trying to say. There was a very short time in my life where I was completely comfortable going out, but that is not so anymore. I am typically very uncomfortable in that kind of scene. I do however, enjoy going out with my wonderful Christian friends and if we decide to order a drink I have no problem with that. I guess the real question that I am trying to ask myself is, "would I see Jesus out in a bar?" I might be far fetch when I say this, but yes; I do think I would see Him. He comes to where we are, in our dirty most darkest places in our lives. He wants nothing more than for us to have a relationship with Him. Infact, He is already in that bar; Maybe it is our job to show people where He is. You never know how God plans on using you.
