2017/1/22
I used to listen to a lot of K-pop. I don't anymore because either time, level of interest, or I'm just picky about what I want to listen to, but I am a strong Once (follower of a girl group named Twice). The group was actually formed from a Survival show called "Sixteen," where all the girls competed with one another and other girls to get a spot into the group that would be Twice. And one of my favorite segments from that show was the following lecture given by CEO Park Jin Young. I'm sorry if you're not Korean, the links I share don't have English subs.
Timestamp (1:29-2:55): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYpQ_no133g
- "I need time to be holy for church"
- "I would do ___, but can't because it's Sunday you know?"
- "That would be something I would do/say but gotta be holy you know?"
- "Why are you trying to be so holy? This isn't church/small group."
These or any similar phrase might be something you have heard from fellow Christians at some point in time. I know I have. And I've come to describe this phenomenon as the "Holy Zone Model."
This model is based on this idea that there is a space to be "holy" and a space to be "secular." These spaces have some overlap (ie. friend groups, interests, activities), but they do no coexist or occupy the same space. They are separated. Kind of like a Venn diagram. And to you reader, it pains me to say this but if you have been living a way of life that sounds like, or is conducive to what I have just described, then you have a inaccurate view of God, the Church, and your faith.
I cannot claim to speak for all the people around me who use Holy Zone Model phrases, but regardless of the reason, I believe that those who do live this way have a view of God, and a view of the world, and actively choose to say that those things do not come together. So in the face of potential persecution -- such as sharing the Gospel with co-workers, hanging out with friends outside of church, or meeting someone new and wondering if you should bring up the word "Church" -- they run away from the potential that God wants to work through them anytime anywhere anyhow. Somehow being cool or avoiding conflict is better than confidently self identifying Jesus as the Lord and Savior of my life.
Being holy is "boring." Being holy is "being nice." Being holy means that I can't let people know I like alcohol." Being holy means I have to watch my language, because if I say something that puts people off, they will judge me" That's the fine print I hear when people talk about when they exhibit the Holy Zone Model of living.
So I'm going to say it now. I like to drink [alcohol]. I like secular music. I may not curse, but I say some things that may not be "innocent." whatever that means. I am not the greatest example of a "nice person". I will choose to skip out on a day and a half of retreat because I want to watch my favorite football team come to town, and have no regrets about it. I like things of this world. And I believe God made or allowed the creation of many of these things for me and you to enjoy. But at the end of the day, I want all of it in moderation. Because nothing the world has to offer is worth consuming my life for, and that's coming from a place of having been there.
So I propose a different way of living. "The Wholly Model." There are so many words I could use instead of "wholly," but I chose not to because I didn't want this to be a Christian buzzword. I just want it to be truth. And that's where my video at the beginning of this post comes into importance.
I find it interesting that at JYP Entertainment, potential celebrities are not told to be someone they are not. He doesn't say you CAN'T use foul language, be a rude person, or that you can't be prideful. He says that the kind of celebrities he wants representing the company are people who embody that kind of character. The difference between telling someone what they can't be and what they should be is can't is a permission based action, and shouldn't is a suggestion. You CAN be a rude celebrity who people don't like as a person, but you probably SHOULD not be.
Seeing that lecture on television dawned on me that maybe, this man JYP who has plenty of reason to leverage his success, fame, fortune, and talent as a means of "look at me and how I am better than you as a person," actively chooses not to, and encourages others to do the same. His most compelling statement is, "[욕] 안 썼으면 좋겠어. 스타가 돼기 위해서 가 아니라, 그냥 좋은 사람을 돼기 위에서" (I hope that you would not [swear]. Not just to become a star, but for the sake of becoming a better person). That, I believe is a prime example of a wholly model of living. See JYP describes behavior like cursing as not something you should be watchful of, but as becoming someone who does not even need to be careful of curse words.
Don't separate your Christian life from your "secular" life. Let your entire life be one and the same. Because God isn't in control just when you are at Church, or with your Christian friends, or when you outreach, or at small group. God is in control of your entire life. So put Him there all the time. Maybe giving up that control means you need to change some of your past behaviors, or relinquish certain hobbies and activities because it is not something that is pleasing before God, but if you truly feel that God is at the center of it all, then there's no reason to believe that you are being a "boring" person.
In Luke 11:39-40 Jesus states the following -> "And the Lord said to him, 'Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also?'" The Holy Zone Model says that if I keep the outside of my cup clean, then at least I will look good or maintain some favor to God's Laws, but The Wholly Model says, if any part is unclean, we are unclean. Maybe it's time we cleaned up more than the appearance of our cups.