Theme Workshop
From Hkmsc07
| Theme Workshop | |
| Counselors: | Ray Jang, Andrew Hong, Mitchell Shin |
|---|---|
| Time: | |
| Place: | Tabernacle |
| Cost: | {{{Cost}}} |
KXMkPF I truly appreciate this blog post.Much thanks again. Will read on...
Application Aspect - Ray Jang
Me – Application Aspect
So my part of the passage is “8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” So the passage here might seem straightforward in a general way but what is the passage really trying to say? Let me break it down to you into two parts.
The first part is verse 8. Where St. Paul is saying, “8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Is St. Paul telling us to think about rainbows, butterflies, and happy innocent things? No no my friends, it goes far much deeper than that. Let me explain to you first and foremost why St. Paul is saying this. He is saying this because he understands the influence of one’s thoughts on one’s life. He understands that what people allow to occupy their minds will sooner or later determine their speech and actions.
To better understand this verse, I will let you into the amazing world of Counselor Ray’s life and use myself as an example. A simple anecdote or two that might make you see how this verse relates to you. So, this whole Theme Workshop business was something that I actually volunteered for. I knew this was a very important program in Summer Camp. So I wanted to contribute back to a program that I personally enjoyed when I was a camper. Well, couple days went by and the more I thought about it the more I was thinking “Ai yah!” this is so much stuff to handle. I had to do this on top of my morning exercise as well as the icebreaker program. You might think this is not much but honestly/unfortunately I can be really lazy/lethargic especially when it comes to doing work. A few more days go by and I do small amounts of research here and there but I still did not put full focus into my huge hard-hitting lesson that I am teaching you guys now. As you campers can see, my apathetic/uninterested mindset was influencing my actions. I kept thinking in my head, “This can wait till the next day.” Which lead to “This can wait till next week.” You see how such a small, trivial thought in your head could lead to such a large amount of laziness? Ironically what motivated me and pumped me up to learn about as well as teach St. Paul’s word was after hearing our very own MC Paul’s word. You guys get it, since they were both named Paul? Ok, anyways, MC Paul’s deep testimony was the key that ignited my mind engine to think of my position as a catholic and my relationship with God.
Alright, so why am I talking about myself other than the fact that counselor Ray is a pretty interesting guy. It is because of the fact that the verse hit me, and it hit me hard that night. I actually sat there and began to ponder about the thoughts that I let consume my mind and how it influenced my very own words and actions. Just now I was talking about how I can “wait” to do this or that. This lazy mindset, what did it produce? It produced exactly that, LAZINESS!
So a more personal example I will share with you is my realization of my actions these past 2 years or so. I have not been a very upstanding Catholic. You know, fun was the most important thing to me. You know, God was like my side of peas and carrots to my 14oz Sirloin Steak of fun. I would be watching all these awesome action flicks with a lot of violence or cursing, I would be listening to “gangsta” rap like Lil’ Weezy and all that jazz. You might not want to believe it, but all these things do and will corrupt your mind and influence your actions. Also, all the things I saw on TV were about having fun and partying all day every day. What did that lead me to do? I had fun and I partied all the time! I never watched TV shows with wholesome morals or listened to Christian music all day. I did not even have CCM on my laptop! I was perturbed at this discovery! I wanted to listen to some CCM you know? So I could get into the mood to be able to discuss this passage. I settled with some Daft Punk, good stuff by the way, anyways!
So you are thinking to yourself, Counselor Ray, “YOU CRAZY! Where in the bible does it say anything about modern movies, music, TV, and DOTA?” Well I would say to you, “*sigh* My young campers, let me hit you with this!” If any of these recreational activities you are choosing to be apart of are in fact pure, praiseworthy, right, lovely, etc. then God has no problem with it. But if these things have the ability to corrupt you in any way, then you might want to reconsider.
I want you campers to see the connection that thinking in the way St. Paul is suggesting is an actual step closer to God, it’s adding a step to the stairway to God. No wonder St. Paul is so adamant of us to think about such things. He does not want our minds to be controlled by impure thoughts and daydreams. Like I said before, be careful what you put into your mind through TV, Internet, Books (for the few of you that read), and conversations! Girls, whenever you have those awesome slumber parties you do not need to talk about how cute counselor Ray is. It should always be wholesome conversation! Most importantly read God’s word and pray to him, ask him to focus your mind on what is good and pure. It might not happen soon, but the more you pray the easier it will happen.
Alrighty, the second part is verse 9. Verse 9 states, “9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” He brings up the point of application. What I mean is that he wants us to put the Bible’s word into practice. He is saying it is not good enough to just read or hear the word of God. How easy is it to hear Father Hwang or any other Father preach, and forget about what he has said? How easy is it to read the bible and not apply the message in your life? How easy is it to debate what a passage means to a friend of yours and not even live out the meaning of that passage? You know, exposure to God’s word is not enough, it isn’t even half the journey, it must lead to obedience. Unfortunately I will use myself as an example to explain how not to live. Before I really started to research this passage and learn and realize whenever I went to church I would always forget the readings as well as what the Father preached. When I mean forget I mean like right after mass. This was mostly due to me not listening in the first place. As you can hear, this links again to the first part of the verse, where thoughts are very important and ultimately mold who you are and how you act. My mind was full of unnecessary thoughts, like during Mass I would think about things like, “How did I get that stain on my shirt?” “Man, I am so hungry, I hope we eat pho today.” When you are attending mass your mind should be focused on what is being preached about God.
So Guys and Gals please see how important it is to actually put into practice the word of God. These are all steps on your journey to have Peace in Him. Thanks for listening! So we are going to be splitting into groups now like usual.
Discussion Guidelines For Groups
-What are some things you think are corrupting your mind personally?
-Do you agree with St. Paul, that thoughts will influence your words and actions?
-Do you put into practice the word of God? Why or why not?
(might be changed, might add more. Suggestions?)
