Reality check

Last weekend I had one of those enormous reality checks that arose from something completely mundane.

We'd finished our experiments a day early, so that night the two guys went into the city to go clubbing. Not my scene, I told them, so I stayed behind, caught up on some work and some much-needed sleep. They arrived back at about 3:30 am and found that their cards to get in wouldn't work, so they called to get me to open the door. Long story short we got locked out of the room. A series of bizarre suggestions followed - should we break the door, after all it's 'their' fault for locking us out, etc. Thankfully I managed to convince them otherwise, eventually they woke up the manager and got a new keycard to get in. But trying to reason with somebody who's had a couple of drinks too many is not something I've had to do very often, and definitely not something I enjoy.

People these days seem to be so proud of their alcohol-consuming ability. I really don't get it. I haven't ever drunk any (knowingly) because of a commitment I made to God when I was 12 (not to drink, smoke, do drugs, have sex before marriage, or swear). And that night (or, early morning) as I lay on the bed unable to sleep, I was just filled with thankfulness that God had spared me from all of that 'culture' and that I have a higher purpose in life.

It just hammered home to me the difference between the Christian values that I hold, and those of 'the world'. Call me weird if you want, but I know where I stand.