The Everyday Club

3/11/12    Jonathan,    22
Today I stopped a young man - Jonathan, 22 - on his bike, asking about his spiritual beliefs. He wore the thuggish clothes of many of the gangbangers at the park I was at, with ominous looking tattoos and skull-themed jewelry around his neck. As it turned out, he believes in the biblical teachings of our accountability to God, final judgment and the eternal consequences of heaven and hell. He was one of the less than 1% of people whom I've talked to who truly believe they will go to hell as a punishment for their sins. "If you know this, why don't you do something about it?" I asked. Jonathan just shook his head. "I like my sins too much" he said. He had grown up in what sounded like a solid, biblical church, but has simply decided that sin - specifically drug use and illicit sex - is too fun and he is not willing to give it up. He reminded me of an earlier version of Mike, a 30 year old I talked to on Friday, who had left a church background for the pleasures of sin, has abandoned belief in God's very existance and now, of course, no longer feels accountable for his sin. Jonathan is on that same slippery path. He still has some very solid, biblical beliefs except for one - his belief in Santa Muerte, a Mexican cultish figure. Jonathan said he prays and gives offerings of tequila at an altar to Santa Muerte which gives him protection from violence and death. I can see why he would be attracted to such a cult, given his belief that he would go to hell if he did die. From here, the path he is on will lead him to minimalize his sin, deny that he deserves punishment, deny the existance of hell and God Himself. We talked quite a while and I explained the Gospel clearly. He claimed to have no doubts about anything I said, but in the end simply said "I have to be honest - I just like sin too much". He allowed me to pray for him right there on the sidewalk, so I did: that God will get his attention, even if it hurts. Please do the same! "They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity...." (Eph 4)