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With the job market the way that it is, I think that I should really start to reevaluate my pacifism.

This week has been miserable for me. I graduate in less than fourteen days. Ordinarily, I would be incredibly excited about that. However, I don't have a job lined up for after I graduate. I kind of feel like I'm jumping out of an aeroplane without a parachute. I've been really excited about a certain job that I applied for, but it looks like it probably won't work out. I'm at a loss for what to do next.

Last night, I had a horrible migraine — definately the worst that I've had in some time. Since I can't take ibuprofen on an empty stomach, David and I went out to get some midnight McDonald's. While we were going through the drive-through, we talked about it some.

I subscribe to the school that God isn't necessarily going to make sure that your life turns out well. Augustine once said, “God provides the wind, but man must raise the sails.”¹ Essentially, what I believe is that God's will will be made manifest regardless. However, we are often the instruments for carrying out his will. Therefore, it is not good for us to simply neglect our callings.

David was reassuring me that everything would be good in the end. I presented my view that that's not always the case. People trust in God all the time and end up in bad situations. I presented a few to him. David's response was just a simple “so what”.

I thought of people who died for Christ — contemporary martyrs. They trust in God completely and yet end up in bad situations. However, when you think about it, what is the issue with that. “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”²

I came to realise one critical point: everyone's destiny is death.³ After all, after death, we all get what's coming to us. In the end, there will be no problems or issues with us since we'll essentially be living in a perfect communion with God. If that's what I'm destined for, why should I worry? Nothing in this life is important in the long scheme of things.

Somehow, I still don't exactly subscribe to this no-worries philosophy, yet I am more at ease with the idea of letting God be God.

1. I once wrote a letter to the campus newspaper about this. Trust in God, but steer away from the rocks.
2. Matthew 5:10 (NIV)
3. Ecclesiastes 7:12

So, just the other evening, I watched the film Saved! with a group of my friends. I don't really want to take the time to explain the film. Essentially, it depicts some really messed up Christian school. The only figures in the film that the audience is supposed to sympathise with are the ones who aren't Christian (or who are Christian but possess half of a brain).

Coming from a Christian high school, the film did a very bad job of portraying one. The film portrayed it as a haven for intolerant, stuck up, “holier-than-thou”¹ types. At my high school, people didn't care to bother having an aura of holiness. Really, the students drank, drugged and slept around just like your garden-variety public schooler.² Three people in my senior class were pregnant at graduation. In my class were drug dealers and boozers alike. I'm not writing such to condone or condemn such. Really, I just want the world to know that Christian schools aren't some sort of sanctuary from the world.

Saved! wasn't entirely too inaccurate when it came to portraying Christians. When the holier-than-thou attitude was portrayed, someone I know instantly came to mind. Probably, if I had seen this film four or five years ago, I would have been appalled. Now, I'm pleased that such films exist to show the Christian subculture for what it really is.

My parents came down to visit me about a month ago. Since it was right before my birthday, they brought me a gift: The Simpsons Movie on DVD. Since we were also a little bored one evening, we decided to watch it. My father wasn't pleased with the way that Flanders, the obnoxious, über-Christian next-door neighbour, was portrayed. First of all, never mind the fact that he's portrayed as a good father who takes an interest in his neighbours' well being and is among the only two people in town who are trying to save the Simpsons when everyone else is trying to kill them. Essentially, Christians are portrayed as the goofy, obnoxious, annoying types. The fact is that, stereotypically, they are. Ever listen to Christian music these days? Our culture is immature and annoying, and I hate it. I'm just thankful that your garden-variety Mormon is further down the slope than your stereotypical Christian.

1. Really, I think that the church needs to start objecting to this term. Holier-than-thou implies that the church is still stuck in the seventeenth century. If we really want to be relevant to the culture that we are trying to witness to, let's start using the term holier-than-you to describe ourselves.
2. No, I'm not saying that public schoolers are by nature bad people — not at all! Still, in the minds of many fundamentalist Christians, public schools are one of the worse things plaguing this nation.