Ten Style Pet Peeves

     So this blog post is going to be quite different from my usual posts. Today I want to talk about ten of my style pet peeves. These are ten things that people (particularly men, for obvious reasons) do when they dress that annoy me to some degree. This list is not in order, since that would be hard for me to do. I hope you find some entertainment from this list, and maybe even learn from it.

1. The undershirt showing. Why? An undershirt is meant to be concealed under your shirt. It's like underwear, nobody should ever see it. I notice this problem the most when guys wear a crew neck undershirt under a dress shirt with no tie and have a button open on the top. The way to fix this is by simply switching to a v-neck or a-shirt as an undershirt. 
2. Poorly tied tie. Why? It bugs me when a guy ties his tie with seemingly no effort. If you are wearing a tie, it means you are probably at some occasion where you are expected to look good. Having a crooked or loose tie makes you look sloppy and lazy. A tie should look like you put some effort into it.
3. Poorly fitting clothes (usually too large). Why? Having clothes that don't fit is a huge problem especially in the United States. When you wear clothes that don't fit, it makes you look larger than you actually are. The clothes sag off of your body and look really ugly. The best way to fix this problem is to buy smaller sizes, or to try different brands. This is definitely one of the hardest pet peeves of mine to fix, but it's pretty important too.
4. Mixing casual and dress clothes. Why? Mixing casual and dress clothes is really hard to do well. Usually when I see people do this, they don't do it well. The most common example of this is when a guy wears a suit with tennis shoes. Why would you do that? Just wear dress shoes.
5. Wearing short shorts. Why? Self-explanatory.
6. Wearing pink/salmon shorts. Why? Honestly, there's nothing really "wrong" with wearing these shorts, I just personally don't like how they look. I also think the fact that everyone is wearing them now plays a part in why I don't like them.
7. Wearing sunglasses/hats inside. Why? These are meant to worn outside, not inside. Just take them off when you go inside.
8. Buttoning too many/too little buttons on a dress shirt. Why? It bothers me when someone wears a dress shirt and buttons it all the way to the top without wearing a tie. I feel like it looks weird and uncomfortable. Just unbutton one or two buttons and you look much better. However, you should never unbutton more than two buttons, or you look kind of creepy.
9. Buttoning the bottom button of a suit jacket. Why? The bottom button of a suit is actually designed to not be buttoned. It looks awkward when someone buttons the bottom button. 
10. Wearing a long sleeve shirt with shorts. Why? Like number 6, there is really nothing wrong about doing this, but it looks awkward to me. I'm okay with someone wearing a short sleeve shirt with long pants, but wearing a long sleeve shirt with short pants looks a bit strange. This is just my personal preference.

     There you have it, ten of my style pet peeves. I want to know what you guys think of my list. Do you agree with all of these? Do you disagree with any of them? Do you not care? Let me know in the comments, I am genuinely interested.
-Smart

Reverse Charades

"Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many."
-1 Corinthians 12:14
     I'm sure most of you reading this know what the game charades is. At my church, we like to play a variation of charades, known as "Reverse Charades". The premise of the game is just as simple as charades, with one interesting twist. Instead of one person acting out a word to the rest of the team, the team acts out a word to a single person. Although the game is simple, it is extremely fun to play. It's really fun to act out the words with your teammates, and to watch the other teams struggle to act out words.
     While playing reverse charades a couple days ago, I noticed something fascinating. When a team is acting out a word, the players tend to get very close to the guesser. I wondered why this is, and then it hit me; each member is trying to gain the attention of the guesser. What the players don't realize is that by doing this, they undermine the other players. Since a player is trying to demand the attention of the guesser, they want the guesser to only focus on them. However, the game is much easier when the players work together to act out a word, rather than trying to act it out alone.
     As you might have guessed from the verse I chose for this post, I'm going to connect this idea to the church. In reverse charades, everyone thinks they have the best interpretation of the word, so they try to act it out alone. However, if each player commits to acting the word together, the guesser has a much easier time figuring out what the word is. I believe the same is true in the church. Many times we have different interpretations of the Word, and we demand that our interpretation gets the most attention. What I learned from reverse charades is that in order to work together, sometimes you have to sacrifice your belief of how the word should be portrayed. In the same way, in order for unity to exist in the church, we sometimes have to sacrifice our belief of how the Word is meant to be portrayed.
     Of course, every person's interpretation of the Word should not be ignored. We shouldn't just submit to a single person's interpretation of the Bible. In reverse charades, you have to decide who has the best interpretation of the word, and then commit to that person's idea. People in the church are better at interpreting different parts of the Bible, and we should be willing to hear everyone's ideas. We then can decide as a church to work together to interpret the Bible in the best way we are able. The church struggles mightily if the people only demand that their ideas be heard. We should work together so that the Word of God prospers in our church.
-Smart

Marching to a Different Drummer

"But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way."
-Daniel 1:8
     So it might not be obvious by the title, but today I wanted to write about Daniel. I actually took the title "Marching to a Different Drummer" from Ravi Zacharias' podcast series. Interestingly, Ravi never really talks at all about marching or drumming. The basic idea is that Daniel wasn't following the patterns or "beat" of this world, but was following God.
     Almost everyone knows the story of Daniel in the lion's den. Daniel refuses to bow to the statue of the king, so the king sentences Daniel to death in the lion's den. Interestingly, the king didn't want to kill Daniel, but he was tricked by his advisers. The king liked Daniel and respected Daniel, because he saw how Daniel lived his life. While there is much to learn from the story of the lion's den, today I want to focus on the beginning of Daniel's life in Babylon.
     At a point in Daniel's life, Jerusalem was captured by the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar. The king chose the best young men (including Daniel) from Jerusalem in order to train them to enter the king's service. In other words, Nebuchadnezzar want to change the ideology of the Israelites by instructing the best young men in a new worldview. The king knew that these young men would influence the rest of the Israelites, so the king made sure that the young men influenced them in the king's favor.
     While training the young men, the king orders that they be fed good food and wine. Daniel makes a very interesting request to the chief official. He asks that he can have another diet, not consisting of any of the choice foods the king provided. The official gets worried that if Daniel partakes in this new diet, he will not be as strong as the other men, and the king will blame the official for Daniel's weakness. Daniel assures the official that he will take the blame if Daniel indeed becomes weak from the vegetable diet. After a while, it turns out that Daniel and his friends look the most nourished of the young men. Thus, the king requires that all the men partake in the diet that Daniel had.
     So what are we supposed to learn from this? Small choices can make a big difference. When Daniel was offered the choice foods, partaking in them was not really a sin. However, Daniel knew that if he enjoyed the king's food, he would eventually accept everything the king offered him. Daniel knew that he would get comfortable living a lifestyle without God. In the seemingly insignificant choice to refrain from eating the king's foods, Daniel was setting himself up to become a great man of God.
     Have you ever seen a chip commercial where they say "betcha can't eat just one?" I'm sure you have. Many of us know from experience that it is indeed hard to only eat one chip. Once you taste the first chip, you want to enjoy more chips. Sin is very similar in this regard. If we commit a small sin, we taste the pleasure that sin offers. We then easily fall into bigger and bigger sins, because we've already tasted what sin has to offer. Daniel understood this concept, so he chose not to even partake in a small defilement of his body.
     How was Daniel able to resist such tempting food? Everyone loves good food, so it must have been hard for Daniel to reject the choice foods offered to him. However, Daniel knew that the food would only fill him up so much. The food could only satisfy his physical needs. Daniel chose not to eat this food because it would rob him of a chance to let God fill him up. Daniel chose God over the choice foods, because He knew that God could fill him up where it mattered most; in his spirit. Daniel depended on God for his source of fulfillment, not worldly things like food. The chief official was concerned with Daniel's physical fulfillment, but Daniel was rightly concerned with his spiritual fulfillment.
     Notice what happened when Daniel made a small choice not to eat the choice foods; everyone else now had to change their diet. The king's plan was to change Daniel, but Daniel ended up changing the king's plan. Think again to the lion's den. Do you think Daniel suddenly was able to show such great faith when he refused to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar's statue? No. Daniel made small choices not to let the world change him so that he could change the world. If we make small choices for God, He will be our fulfillment, and will use us to change the world.
-Smart

High Expectations

"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
-Matthew 5:48
WARNING: THIS POST IS VERY HONEST.
     I wasn't going to write about this, but I figured it'd be a good thing to do. On Sunday my church plays soccer together, and I join almost every time they play. Yesterday the weather was super nice, so I was really excited to play soccer. I haven't been able to wear shorts and a t-shirt in a really long time, so I was really looking forward to soccer.
     So what happened? Well, if you've ever played soccer with me, you might know that I like to yell. I don't know what it is, but I just really like to yell while playing soccer. Perhaps it passes the time when I don't have to ball. In any case, yesterday was just a normal day of soccer. However, I think I took my yelling a bit too far. I started saying quite mean things to the people on my team. The people on the other team started to tell me to chill out, which somehow made me more angry. While it seems that I just yell at people unreasonably, I normally am trying to make the team better (believe it or not).
     At a point in the second half, I had enough. I decided to walk out of the game. I know, that makes me sound like a loser, quitter, uncommitted, etc. The truth is, I probably am all of those things. So you may ask yourself, "why did you quit a pick up game of soccer?" The answer is that I don't treat it like a pick up game. People always tell me, "hey man, just play to have fun." The problem is, the only way I have fun while playing soccer is by playing my best. When I don't see my teammates reciprocating my effort and hustle, it bothers me. I demand a lot of myself when I play, so I expect a lot from my teammates as well.
     You have to understand that the people who play soccer have various skill levels. Some are quite good, while others, well, the less said the better. The people who are less skilled normally say to me, "we're just not good enough to play better!" Now, I don't think of myself as unreasonable. Maybe I come off that way, but I never expect more than I know people can handle. When I yell at my teammates, it's because I know they can do more. I'm not criticizing their level of skill; no one can change that during the course of a game. I'm trying to help them play better, and trying to make them play with more hustle and energy. I tell them where to pass, where to dribble, and generally what they could do that would benefit the team. While it sounds nice when you read it here, I will admit that I seem very demanding and unreasonable while I am playing.
       Interestingly, I recently saw a movie titled "Whiplash". The premise is that there a young man trying to become a great drummer. When he enters the best music school, he finds that the teacher is really demanding of his musicians. The teacher is really over the top, even throwing chairs at the drummer because he was off tempo. When I thought about the movie, I wondered why anyone would ever stay in that band. I realized that the only reason someone would put up with the teacher is that they wanted to get better, no matter the cost. Even though the teacher was cruel, he would make them better musicians.
     I kind of felt like that teacher yesterday. I yelled at my teammates, demanding their very best. However, my teammates are not like the drummer in the movie. They just want to have fun, and enjoy the weather while playing soccer. They're not trying to become elite soccer players. They probably don't appreciate being yelled at, especially in a pick up game. Unfortunately, it's really hard for me to turn off my competitiveness, so I continued to have high expectations for my team. When they couldn't meet my expectations, I left them.
     I realized that soccer stopped being fun for me. I demand so much from myself, and from others. There are very few things more frustrating in life than to have your expectations let down, especially when you put so much effort into something. I decided that I should take a sabbatical from soccer (I know, sounds kind of weird). If I continue to play like I am now, I will only end up not having fun and taking away from other's enjoyment of soccer. I'll probably take a couple weeks off to clear my mind and have some rest.
     One thing I thought about after playing soccer is how much God expects from us. God is holy, righteous, and perfect. As His disciples, we should strive to be like Him. He wants us to be holy, righteous and perfect. However, we can never meet those expectations. Unlike myself, God doesn't demand that we be like Him, but He does expect us to become more like Him. What if God was like me, and just walked out on me when I inevitably fail His expectations? I would lose any opportunity to gain eternal life. However, I thank God that He is not like me. He continually teaches me and lovingly guides me in the path of righteousness. I pray that I can somehow be more like God, and that He would lead me all the way.
-Smart

Off with the Old (Ephesians 4:17-32)

"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."
     I know I haven't been keeping up with these Ephesians posts, and I apologize. I skipped a couple passages because I wanted to write about chapter 4 while it was still fresh in my mind.
     So what is Ephesians 4 about? You may have noticed that in the first three chapters of Ephesians, Paul talks about what Christ has done for us (He chose us, brought us from death to life, reconciled Jew and Gentile). Ephesians 4 now changes gears a bit and talks about what we are to do for Christ. Paul starts off by saying that we are not to be like the Gentiles. The Gentiles were not receptive to God, and hardened their hearts. They sinned against God without feeling any sense of responsibility. At first, it seems like Paul is saying "don't be like this group of people". However, Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesians, who were Gentiles. So what Paul is really saying is "don't be like yourselves."
     How can someone not be like themselves? The answer is that they have to change. They have to put off their old self. Paul describes the old self in the beginning of the passage; darkened understanding, separated from the life of God, ignorance, etc. In other words, the old self is one that has no regard for God. The old self has no concept of right and wrong, and just does what feels good. The old self has no direction or purpose, and as a result remains separated from true life.
     So how does one "put off their old self"? The answer is by putting on the new self. Change doesn't happen by trying to stop being your old self. Change happens when you put on your new self. When you put on your new self, you naturally will put off your old self. It's like changing a tire on your car; there is only room for one tire. You cannot have an old and a new tire on the same axle. In the same way, you cannot be both the new and the old self.
     What is the "new self"? We basically already know what the old self is, since we are all naturally sinful and rebellious towards God. Paul says that the new self is one that is "like God in true righteousness and holiness". What? How can we be like God? That is a natural question to ask. The answer is to look at Jesus. How did Jesus live? Paul writes in verses 25-32 about how we are to live, and I noticed that these are all thing Jesus did when He lived. I don't have time to talk about them all, so I encourage you to read the passage on your own. The way to true righteousness is through Christ. 
     You may think, "no matter how I try, I can never really become a new self". And you would be right. We can never truly become righteous and holy. Only God is righteous and holy. However, we have to remember what Paul said earlier in Ephesians, "He chose us to be holy and blameless". God chose us to be holy and blameless. Why would God give us an impossible task? It's because He gave us the impossible solution; sending His Son to come and die for us. Now, does this excuse us from living a righteous life? Absolutely not. God called us to live according to His Spirit. We must give every effort to put on our new selves, and God will accept our efforts through Christ.
-Smart