Because Jesus...

It sometimes still surprises me what people are willing to say on the internet, particularly on social media. I have had numerous conversation in which a party will "say" something completely outlandish and not realize how ridiculous it sounds. I don't know why this seems to happen more through this medium than it does in face to face interactions but I have a theory.

I'm sure you can remember a time (I'm thinking of a lot for myself) when you began saying something in a conversation and as the words were leaving your mouth you realized how dumb that thought actually was. Maybe you are a quick talker and slow thinker so you actually said the entire offending thought. Maybe you are lucky enough that you think faster than you talk and you caught yourself. personally I've had both experiences.

My point is this; I think the reason so many dumb things get "said" on social media is because no one is saying their thought out loud. No one has to hear how dumb their comment actually sounds. Something about typing makes it appear to be internal thought to our brains and we don't always catch internal stupidity. However, when we start to speak out loud we are simultaneously listening to what we are saying and so, sometimes, we catch ourselves before we say really dumb things.

I propose that, from now to whenever the internet disappears, we all read out loud, at least to ourselves, everything we post. This might prevent a small portion of the crazy from making it out there. And even a little dumb is worth stopping.

Why did I just rant about the dangers of unfiltered posting on social media? I'm glad you asked. I ranted because I wanted to "speak" to a social media situation which arose that has prompted this thought; I do what I do because of Jesus.

I do certain things because its what Jesus did or said.

I do certain things because they are what I think Jesus would do.

Before you get too lost let me explain. Sometime in 2012 I was perusing the ol' facebook, when I stumbled across a comment I found rather funny. A friend had posted that they had participated in a nationalistic activity, they stated certain difficulties they had faced to do so and then asked the question, "what's your excuse?" (for not doing said activity.)

There was nothing inherently wrong with my friend's participation in this activity, however, personally I have chosen to take no part in that particular nationalistic activity. I have made this decision because I see how participation, for some, has blurred the line between what is Kingdom of God and what is kingdom of man. So, of course, I had to reply. I'll have you know I chose my reply carefully. I typed several options and finally settled on just one word.

"Jesus"

My reply was not meant to be superior or snobbish. I simply wanted to answer this friend's question. What's my excuse? Ultimately it comes down to Jesus. I want to be a full participant in the Kingdom of God. Sometimes, that means I choose to abstain from the actions of earthly kingdoms. (Just to be clear, I pay my taxes.)

What blew me away was not the initial post, that was fine. Another friend replied to my comment saying, "Josh, please tell me you are not serious...because that is the absolute wooooorrrssseeee excuse I have ever heard".

This is going to sound mean but, no its not. (Follow me seems pretty legit.) Jesus, is the best reason I can think of to do or not do...well, everything.

There is a local restaurant here that has the most amazing bacon cheeseburgers. Seriously, they are delicious. My friend, Mike, and I have gone there often over the last few years of ministry. One because its delicious, and two because the owner/operator and her staff are very good people. We have made it our goal to do anything we can to show Jesus to this group of people.

It started out as just leaving good tips. We noticed that most of the other patrons would leave a couple bucks as a tip. Did I mention that what this restaurant charges is comparable to a fast food joint and its WAY better. Also, the staff is quite friendly and good. I don't think Mike and I have had to order our drinks more than once or twice in the last year and a half. We walk in, find a table and two Dr Peppers (in cups that are larger than anyone else's) magically appear on our table soon after. We decided that Jesus would tip well, probably anywhere he went, but especially here.

The next step in this process was tables. It's not a large establishment and they don't typically have more than three staff out front, sometimes there is only one. And this place is hoppin', there are days when it is hard to find a table at all. One of the things we noticed was that they occasionally fall behind on busing tables, because of the large number of customers as compared to the available staff. If you walk into a restaurant and half the tables still have the remnants of the last person's meal on them it doesn't look good. Mike and I decided we would help. We started by busing our own table every time we ate there. And that was good, but it could be better. We reached a point where we would walk in, bus one or two tables, sit down, eat, bus our table and maybe grab another at the same time. Why? Because we think Jesus would look for any opportunity to serve others and this is what we saw.

One of the great things about this is the conversation opportunities it has opened for us. We get to serve this group and hopefully show them a little Jesus in the process. We have overheard other customers asking, "who are those guys?" To which the owner answered, "just a couple guys from some church." "What are they doing?" "That's just what they do, being nice I guess." Someday, soon I hope, the answer will be,

"Jesus."

This part of my story ends with another friend, a new follower of Jesus, joining us at this restaurant. We did our normal routine, and as Mike was paying, the owner mentioned she had a headache. Mike asked if he could get her anything and she jokingly asked if he had any tylenol or anything on him. He offered to retrieve some and I think she thought he was kidding. Minutes later, having gone across the street to a convenience store we returned with the medicine. Our friend asked why we were doing all the things we were doing. I responded by saying,

"Jesus."

I followed with an explanation of how we want everyone to see Jesus in every action we take and every word we speak.

I am confident in saying that, "because Jesus..." is the best possible way I could began any explanation of my actions. I hope you feel the same.