Barneyisfat

Last night I went for a walk with a friend from English camp. Yana and her brother Dima are really fun to be around.

We went for a walk.

In Ukraine, going for a walk is a normal activity for friends hanging out. It's even a pleasant date idea. The correct translation of "hang out" in Russian is literally "to walk." We walked for four and a half hours.

We had planned to end with dinner. At hour two it was decided that McDonald's would be a nice end to the evening. I decided on my usual - a hamburger and an ice cream cone. At hour four I supersized to a Big Mac, fries, and a Coca-Cola (with ice!).

When we began to eat, Yana noticed that I didn't pray before eating. At camp we had prayed before every meal, and she was a little surprised that I didn't pray before my meals. I told her, "It's okay - it's easier to ask forgiveness later than to ask permission now.

Any theology that considers smoking cigarettes a sin would be incomplete and insincere if it didn't also include trips to McDonald's as sinful.

We're quick to label things as sinful - as long as their not the things we do. This is odd, primarily because a lot of what we hold quite dear is actually sinful.

Yes, Virginia, prayer chains are just gossip loops.
Yes, the fact that American Idol has the word "idol" in the title should tip us off that Christians shouldn't be flocking to it.
No, you shouldn't live in a house with more bathrooms than people.
No, you shouldn't eat food that kills you (because, like the case against cigarettes, your body is a temple of the Lord).

The real reason I didn't pray before eating at McDonald's is because Jesus taught his disciples to not pray in public or to make a show of their prayers - and perhaps doing so is also a sin.