I'm going to talk about boy/girl relationships....actually, I'm going to talk about brother/sister relationships. :-) They're tricky, they're sticky, and some of us truly act like we think they're icky. But they are NOT. At least, they don't have to be.
At the conference, I was amazed at the genuine kindness, politeness and friendliness displayed by the young men and women helping put on the conference. The young men would say, "Hello" and smile, just like the young ladies. They didn't walk past and ignore me like I was a picture on the wall. I was able to have good edifying conversations with some of them - and with some young ladies too. It was wonderful. Seeing them work together for the glory of God really inspired me. They worked TOGETHER. The girls didn't work on one half of the room while the guys worked on the other. No, no, no, they worked side by side.
Now, I'm not trying to imply that guys and girls should be standing in groups, frivolously bantering and acting immaturely. That's what we need to stay away from, but that doesn't mean we avoid each other like the plague!
The group of young people that helped put on the conference knew the beauty of brother and sister relationships. God didn't intend for men and women to be segregated, separate species. We were created to work together, to help one another.
As young people we have two great assets, youth and singleness. When we use these to the glory of God we can accomplish great things for His kingdom. The young people I saw, put on a conference for thousands of people. They were such a blessing to me and I know they were a blessing to others as well. That's how all of us should be acting.
We need to quit acting like cooties are for real and start working together! When a guy walks in the room we girls don't need to go hide and pretend we didn't see them, and vice versa.
Yes, girls and guys can get too friendly, in fact you will probably run into situations where people get wrong impressions, but that just means we need to work things out. We need to repent and move on, not cower in a corner feeling like a wounded puppy.
I won't lie; I'm talking to myself here. I just thought that I would share my thoughts. Something to think about. We've got to start working together for the glory of Christ and for the furtherance of His kingdom.
3 comments:
Amen!
I like that you pointed out that we were working together. Even outside of boy/girl relationships, relationships in general do better when people have a common goal and work together for that goal. It takes much more effort to be edifying in conversation and action when people don't have anything to do, plan for, or encourage. May we continue to work together for the advancement of the Kingdom of Christ in this world.
-Peter B.
Deo Vindice
Also, I think it helps that some of the young people there really are brother/sister, and that such relationships teach a lot about working together.
-Mrs. B
Very good points. I have thought a lot about this issue through my teenage years, as I've seen both annoyingly immature behavior and unnecessary shyness between guys and girls. I almost wonder whether our bringing-up affects this. I found that, growing up and always hearing about purity and staying away from flirting and wrong relationships, I basically ended with the impression that I needed to stay away from guys. They were this foreign species who you could very easily get entangled with in dangerous ways, and I naturally shied away from them. And when one tried to draw me into a conversation, well! He must be in love.
Or so my mind thought. ;) I've learned a lot over the past few years. I think in some ways I had become paranoid. If we could just learn that guys and girls are different, yes, but we're also brothers and sisters and ever so similar as well... I think it'd be easier to treat each other that way. When we're brought up thinking of guys mostly in the context of love and marriage, that's just kind of where our minds go when we see them. But... that's not how it should be. I have come to have some really beautiful, encouraging, mutually strengthening friendships with some guys. They'll never be as close as my girl-friends... that would not be right. But they still are able to encourage me and just love me like a sister. We can work together, talk together, and be ourselves... and not bother our heads with love.
There is a way to be pure brothers and sisters. Yes, you've got to be careful. And yes, I have to watch myself when I am with guys. But I think my mindset has changed, and allowed me more freedom to see men as brothers, not just as potential husbands.
Just my $0.02. :) And probably very rambling and confusing at that...
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