Yes. V is writing a post on BHASKETBAWL.

Unheard of, I know.

No. This is not about Jeremy Lin in case you already started oh-my-goshing. In reality, I am not writing about the game even. I cannot analyze it for the life of me. After watching a tutorial and a slow-mo video on the pick-and-roll, I confirmed that my brain just does not have much capacity for strategy, and so you are left with my usual um, "unique way" (to make it sound more glam) of analyzing the world around me, perhaps much more sensitive than what you would normally pick out from, in this case, the game of basketball. Watching basketball (and any professional sports for the matter) has taught me a few things - not exactly a recent discovery, but definitely accentuated in this all-sorts-of-bizarre NBA season, especially with Linsanity flying around.

I actually like the sport itself, although I never expressed it too much. I love the ball-handling, the pace, the plays (even though I cannot comprehend or appreciate them to their full extent)! But I intensely dislike players and fans with bad attitudes. I suppose it is more evident in basketball than in soccer because of close body contact, though I have seen some pretty foul plays and players in the world of fútbol. At the end of the day, I do not have a strong enough passion for the sport to negate or overlook the problematic attitudes that come with it. This factor has been a huge turn-off for my watching of professional sports. Character speaks a lot. Even if the player possesses unmatchable skills, an unparalleled attitude will drop em' to zero in my book (not to say that there isn't room to grow and change, which also ironically reveals how harsh fans or antifans can be with their comments on such players - also a dislike). On the flip side, players with good sportsmanship, players who demonstrate good team work and have respectful attitudes can make me appreciate the game ten folds, easy.

This problema does not solely make its way through the professionals, but also the fans. BOO-ing fans, in my opinion, are unarguably rude and immature regardless of their boo-ing target. Obviously, it is even worse if you are boo-ing your own team on your home court (as you can see I started this post way long ago when the Knicks fans were boo-ing Melo at MSG)! Maybe I take it too seriously, but isn't it just like any "relationship"? You walk alongside, you grow with, you speak truth in love to build up but do not seek to tear down (although some really do need a whoopin' get-your-act-right with their obnoxiously dirty plays). I definitely do not fully understand the artistry of the game, but if "band-wagoner fans" or even "loyal fans" for the matter are defined as such, then I would rather not be one.

Half way through my grumbling and annoyance towards boo-ing fans and attitude-rampaged players, without any attempts on my part (because what the heck! I wasn't even finished with my eye-rolling session yet), God directed my thoughts towards Him and reminded me about two things:

UNO Authenticity. Even if you have all the skills one could ever ask for on the court, what do those mount up to if you have no character? Similarly, I was reminded of the trues of 1 Cor 13: "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing...", then Paul goes on to explain what love is and should be. So even with all the talents and skill sets that God has so graciously given, it boils down to nothing if there is not love. I truly, truly believe that the only way to live out such authenticity is when a life is lived for an audience of One (Gal 1:10). It is something that shines from the inside out. Food for thought: so what if I am gifted as a leader? So what if I am a prominent figure in the church? So what if I render myself as one who loves the lost and has a deep compassion for the underprivileged? So what if I feel like a nobody and mask that with false humility? And in all of these "so-what's", if I lack the authenticity of Christ, am I not a sheer hypocrite? Not practicing what I preach is what it is! This is definitely a life-long lesson and undoubtedly a daily battle as the sinful nature seems to have perfected the skill in robbing God of the Glory He alone deserves. Thankfully though, we can have confidence that this desire for self-glorification and hypocritical living is not binding :) and in the midst of our day-to-day struggles, we can claim the promise of God: that He who began a good work in us will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil 1:6)! Moving along the same train of thought, but on a different note, I was reminded to see others through the lens of God - sometimes very difficult for me as I can get QUITE WORKED UP by various kinds and levels of injustices - from injustices on the court all the way to global issues. And in the end, it comes down to a humbling realization that God. chose to save. even ME. of all people.

DOS Agape Love. For a genuinely loyal fan, I do not know if the level of support should waiver on account of the team's performance (that is probably where we get the notorious band-wagoners), but the reality is, a star can fall as quick as he rises. Praise the Lord that He does not act according to our performance like fans and media do... Imagine a God whose blessings and wrath rest upon our performance and how up to par we are against His standards. Good grief! BUT GOD, knowing the depths of our depravity, still loves us the same - so much that He sent Christ to die on our behalf... now THAT is really something. Eph 2:8-9.

Sorry for an abrupt end. Hope my spaghetti-brained train of thoughts did not confuse anybody, or even for my future-self. By now, I am sure you had already picked up on my gathering and processing of information into life-lessons type of habit. I hope it doesn't get too serious or weighty for you all. It is just one amazing and tangible (but sometimes a bit overwhelming) channel that God uses to disciple me after His own heart and to interweave Himself into my life beyond meals and devos. It is especially crazy for one who grew up not thinking too deeply about anything... so I definitely cannot take the credit for this massive influx of "epiphanies" as of late. They just kind of. Happen. Mind you that I only jot down approximately half, if not less, of what floats around in my mind... as if my posts weren't long enough already... ha.

In all seriousness, after a disheartening losing streak of 6, the Knicks are back up with 3 wins in a row! Let's go Knicks! FYI, having moved around so much, I have no regional loyalty whatsoever so do not get on my case for band-wagonning for a Nuu Yawk team when I am clearly not a NY resident, YET (i hope).

the "yet", I will save for another post. But to ease you (and to clear my name), NO I do not want to reside in NY because of the Knicks or Jlin (though those are velly awesome bonuses), and despite my love for them, NO I do not plan on paying $100 to watch a game at MSG in the nosebleed* section, especially when I can pay $100ish for a VIP SECTION in Wang Lee Hom's concert... come on now. I still got my priorities straight 8]


* I am SO noob that I only recently acquired this terminology in the context of sports (as in yesterday). To my own embarrassment and for your entertainment, I thought it made much more sense that the nosebleed section fall under "VIP" seats up front - you know, you get smacked by the ball, or crushed by a player flying in your way - which could potentially result in a bad nosebleed or a nose break for that matter. Wikipedia's definition of the nosebleed section appears to be much more academic and legit compared to my silly "logic" though...

Global Christian

As promised, a shorter (never said short) but probably much more meaningful and weighty post to complete my train of thoughts from my previous entry "Stirrin' up a Big Commotion". You probably think I'm crazy: Wang Lee Hom song > Chinese music and media > Chinese American culture > "Prejudice" > Attitude > Global Christian, but in fact my thought process is pretty consistently crazy.

Here is a short example before I "delve" into my intended content for this post. Don't laugh at me haha. I can easily find myself whoopin' up rather serious themes, connections, and life-questions just by watching dramas. I remember watching City Hunter and feeling absolutely miserable from the deep, long-running hatred and plans of vengeance. At certain points, it was actually very heart-wrenching and difficult to get through (funny how I put myself through such misery, ey?) Here is a snippet of a journal entry I wrote in response to the series:

雖然聼起來可能很傻，但其實我是有很大的領悟。Heart-wrenching 的原因是看到痛恨與報仇是足以毀掉一個人的人生，以及傷害到身邊好多的人。真的是看到我痛心入肺，因爲要一輩子懷著憤怒和仇恨是件很痛苦，很孤獨的事情。(Trans: Even though it may sound very silly, I actually did in fact have a great realization. Heart-wrenching because I saw how hatred and vengeance are sufficient to destroy an individual, and able to hurt those around him/her. It was very difficult to watch, because to hold onto a grudge and to hate for a life time is very painful and lonely.) Perhaps I had never hated someone to the guts in my short-odd-year life-span, and never had some insane revenge planned, so forgiveness came a lot easier. However, to sound dramatic, watching City Hunter was pretty cruel on my emotions because the emotions in the drama were very real (and I assure you, it is not lovey-dovey fluff that is more commonly associated with Asian dramas, but more along the lines of politics, betrayal, murder of close friends and family, and being lied to your entire life by a supposed close family member). It caused me to question what I would do if I were ever faced with a situation with meddling emotions of hatred, revenge, love, and forgiveness. I hope I will 緊記神對我們的 (trans: remember God's) forgiveness, unconditional love, and grace 因爲我們的罪，在神的的眼裏，超越了別人對我們犯的錯 (trans: because our sin, in God's eyes, transcends others' wrong-doing towards us)。 So I hope that... should I ever encounter such internal conflict, I would remember this "silly" connection / epiphany. Since I wrote it down, 不能耍賴 - can't get out of it!

Honestly, as cheesy as it sounds, should I, or anyone for the matter, ever be in such a situation, I really pray that God would empower us to forgive and be joyful in Him because I really do not see a solution elsewhere, and definitely don't see any comfort in planning a life-long revenge. So much for watching dramas as a form of relaxation right? Okeys, I am done giving you a glimpse of my crazy thought process. And yes, if you are curious, I do think and write in English and Chinese depending on my mood. Anyway, moving on to the actual point for this entry...

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are oftentimes encouraged to be global Christians. What do you think that even means? Missions? Awareness and advocacy for social justice? Knowing about the world? To a certain extent, I think all of these facets play an important role in shaping what a global Christian could or should be involved in. However, what I have slowly come to realize in the past few years (which was also surprisingly rekindled by WLH's song "Open Fire") is that the attitude level is what is fundamental to being a global Christian. Although it may sound like a well-duh, I find myself falling-short of it all the time. Not to over generalize, but in my minimal exposure, it is also a weakness I've noticed in the Chinese-American Christian community, especially when it comes to China. Just to qualify, I too have experienced the following at one point or another. The unintentional and sometimes unaware "prejudice" that we ABCs project is definitely a problematic attitude to have as Christians. We cannot go on a short-term missions trip to China, claim how much we love the people there and how much the spiritual darkness breaks our hearts, all the while continue in our ignorance, lack of intentionality, and "prejudice" against the very same group of people immediately outside of the confines of our mission trip. This could range anywhere from your next stop to Taiwan or Hong Kong for vacation, to the comforts of your own backyard in America. If you are curious as to what I mean by "prejudice", perhaps you can skim through my previous entry for a glimpse of a more superficial kind of prejudice?! I've also witnessed the other extreme. As disciples of Christ, we also should not go on a short-term missions trip to anywhere BUT China just because it seems less cool or far too common. Are the Chinese people not equally as lost as those who are in Africa and Latin America? Can one really justify a rejection to go to China for missions simply because of "I have no interest in China" - what does that even mean? I do not know if such a claim shows any kind of understanding of the weightiness of the subject matter, or an understanding that God even extended His plan of Salvation to us, Gentiles. This is not to say that one must like every culture in the world or all aspects of a single culture (or be like me and be quite fond over some Chinese music and artists heh), but I don't think we should find contempt in our preferences. I do not know how I would feel if I find out the individual ministering and speaking about God's love to me actually goes around poking fun at my people, culture, and language with a high-and-mighty attitude outside of the confines of our relationship. Then is that truly a relationship, or am I merely a target, a project, or a step to elevate the individual to a higher pedestal??? Simply said, it is very easy for others to identify whether we are being genuine in our interaction with them or being superficial and hypocritical. In the Christian context, consider this: are you promoting the American church traditions and culture, or the Gospel? I think there is a reason why Christianity is often times known as a "western religion".

Recently, I attended a conference on China. I was privileged to get a glimpse of the hearts of a handful of people: Chinese shepherds ministering to their own people in China; Caucasians and Chinese alike involved in local Chinese ministries (ie: international students) and overseas ministry in China (ie: returnee follow-up, establishing strategic educational institutions). It was very moving and encouraging to see the non-Chinese pour out so much love and care for our people. At the same time, it was very humbling for me to not find in myself nearly as much passion as they have for the Chinese. In terms of the conference, I still have much to digest and process, and definitely much to say about it, but the bottom line is this: God brought me a step further along in having a genuine global Christian attitude. Not perfect, but one step forward. Having seen with my very own eyes the tears shed by our Chinese brothers (pastors / pastors-to-be), these people become so real that you really cannot go about your day thinking "well, I'm just not very interested in the Chinese, I'll go to (insert country name) instead", and making a decision solely based on that. Of course, this is not purposed to neglect other peoples all the while overly promoting China. But I just wanted to bring up a point about the attitude that I feel is oft-overlooked or brushed aside and dismissed as something less serious than it could potentially be.

Locally, there are a plethora of opportunities for us to practice being global Christians, and I really do believe that it starts here. When God calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves, I do not think it is exclusive to mission overseas, and definitely not loving others with a superior attitude. It is important to walk alongside those we minister to instead of imposing our preferences. One thing that stood out to me a lot in Perspectives is contextualization. We are not bringing traditional American church culture to others. We are bringing the Gospel. Just because something works well here doesn't mean it is equally effective and applicable elsewhere or in another culture. Can you see the parallel between contextualization and the attitude a global Christian should have? Both address the issue of holding and imposing western-superiority. It is also important for any missionary to hold an attitude of humility - to be willing to learn about the other culture, their worldview, etc. It takes time and effort to learn and understand these things, and undoubtedly lots of humility because it is easy for us to think that our way is the best without considering the context in which an individual was brought up. Here are a few relatively good, informative reads on local opportunities and how applying the global Christian attitude here can be very powerful and strategic:

- "Cold Welcome for International Students", WorldView Conversation Blog
- "Immigrants Reshaping the U.S.", IMB
- "World Lives in U.S. Urban Centers EthneCITY Participants Discover", IMB
- "Mission, Evangelism, Contextualization, and the Arts", Lausanne World Pulse


I'll pull a shameless plug, International Students Inc. is one way in which you can get involved locally! This type of ministry is actually quite new to me and I am still in the learning process but though it has been an extremely slow process, I have been enjoying my time as a friendship partner with my new Thai friend :) if you would like to get in on the action, let me know!

I admit that this subject matter is something very close to my heart and something that frustrates me and aggravates me a lot. I really hope this post did not come off as extremely critical or ungracious. I stand corrected if it did. My train of thoughts is also oftentimes unorganized (forgive my "girl-spaghetti-brain"). Again, this is not to say that I have not experienced these same thoughts and emotions before. In fact, God had to, on many occasions, instill various lessons and people in my life to correct my hypocritical and prideful attitude, and He continues to do so. You would think that I would have learned this lesson long ago considering I spent most of my childhood in Hong Kong and Shanghai, but nope. It took years to reach this point and even now, I can not say I have perfectly reached this genuine global Christian attitude. Not even close - which is also frustrating in and of itself when I see and know it to be a certain way, yet think and feel otherwise in my heart. Ah, the oh-too-familiar war between flesh and Spirit. 

When there is conviction, an internal change that causes an attitude change, then the things we accomplish become genuine service to the Lord and not tasks ready to be marked off from a checklist or acts ready to be praised by men. A lifelong process of learning it is. Sanctification really does not come easy, but ultimately very rewarding.