Paint

What terms stick and what ones don't? I find it odd that I can say one thing one place and it is cool but say it in another and it is not cool.

For example I remember when I was working at Abercrombie and Fitch in the Lou and it was cool to say shady. You know like that guy is shady or that's shady. Anyway I came home and said this to my sister and she did not like it. She thought that word sounded funny and not cool. In California I often got made fun for saying pop. I actually think that pop can sound better than soda. I feel like soda can be sound like a country word and not so much like a city word. Again this is all so stereotypical and who really defines what words are cool and who they belong with. But somehow words sound different to us. I mean even if it is a cool word how do we feel if an older person says that word.

I remember when one of the girls who comes to Cornerstone on Thursday nights said that I was too old to have holes in my jeans. I thought ok I wasn't wearing them back in the 80s when it was first cool but of recent I was up on the fashion wore them pretty quickly after they came out. Regardless something in her head tells her that is not cool.

All this is my introduction for the word Paint. We can so often hear people say they are going to go paint the town. This term can be used by young or old and no one blinks. I don't think it is cool or not cool it just is. But it was interesting to hear the term paint the town in one of the new Blackeyed Peas' songs. I heard them use the term paint the town and I thought how interesting. What does that even mean?

It actually in its original meaning means to go and go on a riot through out town. Originally taken from these men who did exactly that, had a riot in a town and did paint some of the town red. But I think now days while it can still hold that meaning it means going out and not missing a spot. Sure it does have some connotation to the idea that you are going to get in trouble. But I can tell you when my grandma says it, she is not meaning causing riots. She is probably talking more like making our presence known.

This got me to think about painting our faith and our lives. You know not missing a spot in either of those places. That we make sure everything that is said and known about us speaks faith and the fact we are living in the truth. If our lives were completely covered in Jesus and all that we spoke was about him.

Now realizing this is impossible. We are going to have places that need chiseled out. I just saw the video by the skit guys and know God must continue to shape our lives. But what if my intention was to paint Jesus where ever I went. How would my life change? Do I dare to paint the town Jesus???