Drunken Attentions

Questions fill my mind. What if I had not been born into a Christian family? Where would I be today if I had never been born again? I shudder to imagine the things I am glad never happened. But what if they did? What would I have become by now, at twenty years old?

The other night I was at work, filming in a bar. After working a couple of hours setting up equipment, I found myself thirsty. I looked up at the bartender, a young man with shaggy hair and a baseball cap. I looked at all of the shelves behind him. Lined with beer bottles. Not anywhere did I see a water bottle or anything else that didn't have alchohol in it. I asked one of the guys I was working with, Frank, if he knew if the establishment sold non-alcoholic beverages.

"Just coke," He told me.

I waited until the bartender's table was cleared of drunk men, and then went forward to order a pepsi. But just as I had rested my elbows on the table, and started to order, a very drunk young man lunged in beside me, attempting to flirt with me. Honestly, I felt like I was in an episode of one of those old westerns, you know... where the cowboy is in the saloon harassing Miss Kitty. Fortunately the young bartender was quick in serving my drink and I was able to get away quickly without eye contact. I am thankful to God for that, I was quietly praying the whole time.
But now I think... what would I have done in that situation... if I was not a Christian? Would I have accepted that drunken man's attentions? I sure hope not! But what if???

The following day I was walking a busy downdown street where construction workers were busy doing something to the street. As I walked past the construction area, one of the construction men, bald with a potbelly, was leaning on the fence in between us and trying to get my attention. He was obviously up to no good. " A penny for your thoughts?" He aggressively asked me with a smile. " Come on, I wanna know what you're thinking! What are you thinking about? Come on Honey!"

"Nothing." I told him and kept walking. I had told him that I was thinking about nothing. But was that really true? Of course not. The words I was thinking about I failed to say... partly because I am a Christian and I do not think it is appropriate to use bad language. But oh! The words I was thinking of! I wanted to call him a "Jerk." But I wasn't daring enough. I just kept walking. What would Jesus have done in my place? Even He has called people names before; like "Brood of Vipers" and "White Washed Tombs". I do not think that Jesus would have minded if I had called this man a jerk. No I think He might have preferred it if I did.

And now I am comparing the two incidents: the one at the bar with the good looking young drunk man, and the one downtown with the older guy who had a potbelly. These two run-ins had happened to me less than twenty four hours apart. Their exteriors were so different, but the attitudes and intentions of these two men were the same.

There are so many girls out their desperate for male attention of any and every kind. Even it means being used, mistreated and given temporary, fake love. I am thankful that I am not one of them. Yet I pray for those who are. What would life be if all women would pursue virtue? Seek Christ? Be willing to wait for true love? That is how God wants it to be. How beautiful that would be!