I was listening to this song (see first blog entry) while preparing for my mid-rags, and I was caught off guard: why does God want men who are “angry”? I cringed and thought of the connotations of this revelation. I had listened to this song for a couple years now, and I had always wondered why he wanted upset people as his disciples. Of course, my perception of God was not as it is now, which is still not very much, so I will give my former self leeway.

A couple years ago, I dated a guy who told me he angered rarely, and he held pretty strictly to his word. I thought that was wonderful, with the naïve idea that because of his lack of anger, we would never fight.

Maybe that was the problem.

I was not out looking to get into a fight; but I did notice that he never let stories or knowledge of sorrow, pain, or wickedness affect him. He had a deficiency in compassion for other people in the world, Christian or not. My attempts of persuading him to stand for something, to take a part in anything, failed miserably. Instead of dealing with temper, I was left with something much harder to fight and face: indifference.

I discovered that what I had the most trouble dealing with was a person that put on the appearance of caring, but did not actually care enough to act. In a wider outlook, I should not have been surprised that I found indifference in place of anger. My generation is already stereotyped as the “Why?” generation, wondering what to care about and what benefit we get from doing anything. An over abundance of sloth does not leave room for citizens, especially men, to become compassionate, active members of a community. “Does it truly matter whether or not I play Super Smash Brothers for an extra hour? Doesn’t God tell us that we shouldn’t judge others? Why get upset over someone else’s sin or tragedy if I am not affected by it?”

God wants anger toward sin. Christians constantly flee from being upset at other people’s sinful actions, turning away with thinking that as long as they are not personally affected, then they should “let it go.” But wait, sin has not changed; why have we? God portrays great wrath toward sin; does he not tell us to also hate sin? And with that, because people are known through their behaviors and not their words, why do we sit there scared to be controversial, to stand up for the truth? If there is anything that Christians should flee, it is a lack of compassion for the weak and indifference towards sin and wickedness.

Our Calling as Christians

After previously traveling through Afganistan, Guatemala and New Orleans, I walked along a street in India. Surveying the marketplace, I was offered beautiful jewelry, bowls, and garments for very low prices while the women selling the items told us Americans about their life and how lucky we were. Two of them even informed me that they had married young, that their husbands beat them, and that they couldn't do anything about their predicaments.

I then encountered one woman who had been burned by her husband, and, because of her scars, would have to work on her own for the rest of her life. She said that her culture would never allow her lucky enough to be loved again. She saw herself as cursed, as ugly. I couldn't stand it any longer: I told her flat out that she was beautiful, that she shouldn't rely on what other people think of her, that she was continually loved in God's eyes, that he would make her whole again in heaven. After clarifying that you only go one place when you die and that there is no reincarnation, I shared more of the Gospel with her. She intently listened and asked intelligent and yearning questions about the Christian God, wanting to know Him better.

I had just spoken about Jesus when they told us to move to the next room.

Leaving my friend who I see every day in my current history class, I walked out the door from India, into the sunshine, and prepared to step into the next classroom, deemed the Netherlands.

Welcome to Global Awareness. I had just shared the love of Christ with a Christian actor playing the role of a suffering woman in India.

I didn't know what to say.

I saw her today, however, and we chatted about the experience. I told her how I felt during the experience, how I felt so weird explaining the Gospel to a Christian who was role-playing.

She looked me in the eye and said, "Out of the two days that I acted as that woman suffering, you were one of three people who witnessed to me. You did a great job. I was trying to figure out how to get more people to share with me, because that was my job."

For the second time, I didn't know what to say.

I felt like saying, "You're telling me that I, me, played the part right and did what I was supposed to do?" But then, as I thought about it, the scene really wasn't about me, and I didn't even feel it was about me at the time either.

I remember the two girls from before, offering me jewelry, telling me how their husbands beat them, but at least they have a home. Even though Global Awareness was just a stimulation, remembering that I didn't even think about sharing the love of Christ, the true hope of happiness with them, troubles me.

But what troubles me even more is the amount of students who went through the stimulation and will just walk away. "Wow, that's really depressing... hey, I really want to go the beach, go shopping, and play video games: let's go!" Everything they just experienced results into nothing. And why so many people, Biolans no less, who shook the feelings of compassion off themselves as soon as their cards were swiped and they received their conference credit? Why did so few people witness?

If I am led to anything by these thoughts, its this: no matter what a Christian does, he leaves a mark on someone. Those who merely talked with the girls who were in painful marriages and walked on by left the women feeling hopeless. They portrayed to the girls that their situations "sucked," and then walked away feeling bad for them. How does that demonstrate the mercy, the charity, the love of God? If anything, the Christians actions just told the girls that the Christian God can't help them either. They were left in despair.

What an important job we have as Christians, giving hope and love to those who feel that there is nothing more to life than the suffering they have.

Angry Young Men lyrics by Randy Stonehill

He wants some angry young men

Ones who can't be bought

Ones who will not run from a fight

Ones who speak the truth whether it's

popular or not

Ones who'd give up anything to walk

in His light

Chorus

Rest assured when Jesus comes again

He'll be looking for some angry

young men

He wants some angry young men

With fire in their eyes

Ones who understand what Jesus gave

Ones who have grown weary

of the world and all its lies

Ones who won't forget they've been

delivered from the grave

(Repeat Chorus)

They say if you don't laugh you cry

I say if you don't live you die

Well, well, the road to hell is paved with

some impressive alibis

But unless you thirst for Jesus first

Man, heaven will pass you by

Heaven will pass you by

You'll be tempted, tried and tested

There'll be wars the devil wins

But God's love is not a license to lie

there in your sins

He understands the human heart

His mercy is complete

But His grace was not intended

As a place to wipe your feet

(Repeat Chorus)

He wants some angry young men

Who love the Lord they serve

Ones who'll do much more than make

a speech

Ones who'll act their faith out with a

passion it deserves

'Cause if we cannot live it

Tell me, who are we to preach?

(Repeat Chorus)