Christian culture in America kind of annoys me; the fact that I'm a part of it to a large extent annoys me even more. I just came back from Soulfest (I've now seen the Newsboys 8 times, with 5 different lineups...yup. Dedication right there) and before that I just ended my second year at Baptist Park. Something God put on my heart prior to camp was loving others and meaning it, and even though I had a rough start to the camping season and complained to my co-workers and girlfriend almost endlessly about the stupidity and how obnoxious campers could be, God was still at work in me. I can't explain it; then again I don't have to. God is God and I am not. What he does is always something beautiful.

With that being said, coming from an environment where I had no choice but to love even when I didn't want to and learning what it meant to be selfless (I went days without showering. Yup. I did. I dyed my hair an obnoxious shade of blonde to be Ryan Seacrest to amuse the whims of 10 year olds. I pretended to be crazy Brit Brit to make kids smile. I stayed awake all night multiple times with a camper who had night terrors. Things I'd normally never do.), I found it incredibly frustrating to see how people at Soulfest are. To the majority of people there, Soulfest is nothing more than a way to spend hundreds of dollars and see these people that they've idolized and get that perfect photo, or that autograph, or whatever.

Jesus didn't die for us all so that we could revel in selfishness.

I mean, yes, enjoy the show. Don't ever forget the blessing your life is though. I got most annoyed when speakers between performers would speak about missions or abolishing slavery barely anybody was listening. There was a time when I was one of those people. I'm not anymore. Things in this life are nothing-they all pass away. We have a Father with unending love that never will fade-so yet again I ask, WHY is it so hard for us to show that love towards others? Have we really become so wrapped up in ourselves and selfishness that we've become the very thing we preach against? Looks like it to me. I've been immensely blessed with the life that God has given me. I could have been born into poverty, into slavery, into a parentless existence, into drug abuse and alcohol...but I wasn't. This life was gifted to me so that I could use it to share the love of Christ with those who would otherwise never know it. I don't see what's planned for my life-and the hardest part of it all for me is the fact I don't need to. God's laid out a plan for me and it's my job to always focus on the Son and seek His face in everything I do; it's the same way for every one of my brothers and sisters too.

It's about time we ditched this nauseating, frenzied mania that has become American Christian culture and remember that all we need is our Lord and Savior; not a bunch of useless stuff that we'll forget about in a year or two. Stop and praise the Father for this amazing, beautiful life that He's given to us through his Son. Put down your camera, give your ticket money to someone in need, get up, get out there, and show His love to those in the darkness reaching out for something real and alive that can save us all from death.