Monday, March 29, 2010

The ying to my yang, my goodness with my badness

For myself personally, I like to do at least one random act of kindness per day, but also one random act of treason/social anarchy a day. Before you write me off as some crazy type of weirdo, I want you to know the acts of treason and social anarchy do NOT hurt anyone, in fact what I do is more good than bad, except for the store owners...but read on, will ya?

Well my random acts of kindness, I rather not disclose, because would they truly be random if I gave away what I did? I don't need a pat on my back for my kindness, I know that God smiles at me, that's all I need :)

When it comes to my random acts of treason/social anarchy, here's one example of what I do: If I am a grocery store and I am waiting to purchase my items, I will turn the front covers of all the magazines around so that the back cover faces out. You might ask yourself "so how is this treason/social anarchy?" Well think about the magazines that are for your purchasing "pleasure", for the most part they're enticing you with a way of life that not everyone can achieve: worldly wealth, products, a skinny body, etc. Yet it also says "that if you DON'T have this you're undesirable, you're ugly, you will not attract a significant other, you will grow old and lonely."

Now I know that women and their image can sometimes be distorted as a result of what the media says you should look like, what you should have, what your boyfriend/husband should be like...I digress, so this is why I do it, I do it primarily for the ladies! ;) But I also do it for the guys, the ones who get it locked in their minds that their S/O should look like Britney Spears, Madonna, Lady Gaga, etc.
Some guys can start saying to their S/O's "Hey, you should look like _______" and I find that demeaning to women, when the comparisons game takes place (and I do recognize this happens to both genders) and then you have two people who start loving less and start looking for that "perfect" person.

Here's the thing, the body breaks down over the years, the looks that one might have in their 20's won't be what stays around when that person is in their 70's. As many of you know, I am a follower of Christ, and here's a verse that sticks out to me in reference to inward beauty versus outward beauty;
1 Samuel 16:7
But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
I find myself, after many years to look for someone who looks for someone who has a good heart, not too long ago I wrote out what I go for in a possible girlfriend, my top 3 were as follows; 1) Someone who loves God 2) Someone who loves others and 3) has a good sense of humor. Granted, dating someone who is not a follower of Christ is something I am open to as well, but to take it beyond dating is something I'm not too keen about, and so perhaps it's that reason why I look and pray with my eyes open in regards to relationships; to find my June, to fall in love again, to care for another individual in a way that only boyfriends/girlfriends can, to have someone I can share what I love with that person, to be real/authentic of what's really going on within my life without feeling judgement or timidity that I won't be liked by that individual any more, and I won't lie, I miss the physical aspect of being in a relationship as well.

So recognizing that looks are fleeting and yet that's what our culture sells as the "must have" for women (but also men) one of the random ways I commit a random act of treason/social anarchy without harming anyone except for those who aim to peddle such filth to the general public.

~Nathanael~

2 comments:

Ρωμανός ~ Romanós said...

Wow! I usually look at your blog once a week to see if anything has been posted, but I must have been busy lately... no, I know I have... and I haven't been online very much the last month or so. I read this post and down to the one about Xtian girls being boring.

Brother, are you still in touch with the Orthodox Church as you were once? From the way you're writing lately here in this blog, I would think not. Your mind seems to be a bit caustic.

Random acts of kindness, that's a way of life which, like the Jesus prayer, becomes somehow second nature, even automatic, and you never even notice that you're doing them. You just do them.

Acts of treason and social anarchy, as you call it, well, yes, I used to do such things when I was a student radical and without Christ. After the Lord spoke to me, the only act of treason and social anarchy I ever did again was to witness for Him.

No, I take that back. When I did street ministry, I was rather more anarchistic than that: I preached a gospel of liberation from the world system, in whatever form that system manifests. Hey, I guess I still do. See my humble blog. If blogger queen Varvara Drezhlo (Voices from Russia) ever gets her hands on me, I'll be skewered and served up with her potato dumplings (perogi). Then again, maybe not, I might give her gas. She calls me a gasbag and a pseudo-elder. Oh well, can't please everyone!

The Church now more than ever needs men of God not fettered by programs or enslaved by systems. We have so many temptations coming at us from the world, from the Church, and from our flesh (it used to be from the world, the flesh, and the devil, but now the devil has transformed himself into an angel of light), we've got to guard ourselves well, brother, and make use of the armor and weaponry God has provided. Don't be distracted by the woman in the red dress. Keep your eyes on Jesus.

I read your post about going to the Gay pride parade in Chicago.
Mistake, brother, mistake! You're going down a trail of delusion. Keep Jesus before your eyes. Don't do anything you haven't seen Him do. Christ never argued; He just declared, "Amín, amín, lego ymín..." Christ never judged the sinners, He just told them not to sin anymore. He did not apologise for the wrong acts of others, but simply stood up for the downtrodden, pitying them and caring for them. When He said He was meek and gentle, His yoke easy and His burden light, He meant it.

Think through the knots of tangled lore, brother. Drink deep, so you can drink some more.

I love you, Nathanael, and bless you for a holy Pascha and resurrection.

Go with God, and pray for Romanos the sinner.

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