James Meehan - TikTok Trends and Finding Purpose
- Watch
- Audio
- Get involved
James Meehan: Welcome to this week's episode of Culture Makers. Today we are today we are...
Ariana: Hey guys!
James Meehan: Today we are... You go.
Ariana: I was just really excited to be here. Hey guys.
James Meehan: Today we are talking about all things, Kim Kardashians, TikTok trends, and is it a sin to get tattoos? I'm your host James Meehan. And with me Ariana Lane.
Ariana: Hey guys, what's up?
James Meehan: Ariana, I believe you have a special announcement for all of our Cultural Makers out there.
Ariana: I do. I realized I haven't like filled you guys in on what's, you know, going on with me. I am having a baby! Pretty pumped about it. A little boy. So, you're also a boy dad.
James Meehan: I am a boy dad.
Ariana: So I'm going to ask James and Mandy, all the questions.
James Meehan: No questions, no answers. You just figure it out. The cool thing about boys is you just let them. You just let them.
Ariana: I heard they're kind of crazy. So I'm, I'm excited, but I'm proceeding with caution.
James Meehan: Yeah, that's probably, that's probably why it's right there. All right. So here's what we're talking about today to get things started. First, we've got to address the fact that this Wednesday, October the 13th, that is within 24 hours of this video going live is Switch Fest! If you are a part of the Switch movement, what you need to know is that at Switch in real life at one of our local Life Church locations, we will be going all out, having an incredible time where there will be games, there will be food, there'll be all sorts of exciting things so that you can invite your friends and have a great time at Switch in real life. So that hopefully by the end of the night, they can grow closer to Jesus and closer to other people that will be there with them through all of the difficulties of navigating the teenage years. So don't forget this week, Switch Fest, be there and bring a friend.
Ariana: Be there.
James Meehan: Now with that out of the way, we're talking about some celebrities who are rumored to be dating.
— Yes.
— Those celebrities are Selena Gomez and Chris Evans, AKA my man crush Monday. Go ahead.
— Yeah.
— So my opinion is like, cool. But also who cares? Like I like both of those people.
— Right sure. I, if they are dating that, good for them,
— Sure.
— You know, but I just, I don't know, like why are we focusing on who they're dating? I just, I don't know.
— Well, I think that's the thing that's so interesting you were talking about this earlier, how it seems like for a long time people have been rumoring, rumoring making rumors about Chris Evans talking to, or dating somebody
— Yes.
— And it just continues to change people over time.
— Yes, why do people, why do people want Chris Evans to date someone so bad?
— I don't know. I think that's what's so interesting is the idea of like, why is it that we find so much satisfaction out of being super invested in the lives of these celebrities? And, you know, it's fine to be entertained by that. It's fine to be interested in that.
— For sure.
— But at times it can just become an obsession. Like there are literally people whose entire careers are built around celebrity gossip. And then for so many of us, we engage in the celebrity gossip to get some kind of need met that in reality, that energy and that attention that we have would be better spent engaging in relationships with the people that are right in front of us.
— Definitely.
— Because as followers of Jesus, as Culture Makers, we know that the biggest influence we can have is not through reading about other people's love lives, but it's about being intentional and present in our every day lives. Because ultimately that's where we can make a difference for the good of other people. And so, as you are going throughout your week as a Culture Maker, man I just want to remind you and encourage you that the biggest impact you can make is what the person right in front of you to show them the love of God, by letting them feel, seen, noticed, heard, and valued. And so, yeah, stuff like celebrity gossip can be entertaining, but we don't ever want it to distract us from what's really most important.
— Yeah. So good.
— Next up. We're talking about Ariana's top three, favorite celebrity.
— Top three favorite celebrity?
— Yeah, Kim K, Kim Kardashian hosted SNL recently.
— I do like the Kardashians. I do.
— Where would you rank Kim? Of all the Kardashians sisters?
— I think she's like towards the bottom for me, honestly.
— Dang shots fired.
— I'm like a Kourtney person. Kim Kardashian was on SNL...
— Wow.
— Saturday night live.
— Night live. That's how you know you've made it.
— Yes. I watched the monologue. I watched, you know, some parts. I will preface this by saying inappropriate. I'm just going to throw that out there. So just don't watch it.
— So just don't.
— So just don't watch it, but I think, you know, it takes a lot to get up in front of a crowd
— For sure.
— To do skits like that, that, that really stresses me out so good for her.
— If you did watch it, how do you make sure you watch stuff like that without it taking your mind places that it shouldn't go because the reality is, is everything we watch just about everything we watch is going to have some sort of inappropriate or negative content in it. And so we want to develop the muscle of being able to kind of throw out the bad, but still appreciate the good.
— Everything that we watch though, I feel like has a message. It's trying to point us in a certain direction. So just be aware of that as you're,
— So good.
— As you're watching things and consuming things, what is it pointing you to?
— Dang, come on, Ariana I see you.
— Come on!
— Next topic, talking about something that's pointing to literal illegal activity.
— Uh oh.
— There is a recent TikTok trend that hopefully you're aware of at this point, if you're on the TikTok and by awareness you can then take action and not do these things, but some people have been engaging in what they're calling devious licks, where they are going around and trying to steal school supplies.
— Yeah. I even saw something about somebody stealing the door of a stall, like a bathroom stall.
— Wow.
— They stole that and they post on TikTok to get all the likes and stuff.
— I mean...
— Hey, not worth it.
— Yeah. I feel like I thought it was actually licking things like when I first read about this and like noticed the name, I was like, why, but you know, why, why, why are we stealing? Why is that a trend? I'm just, I'm just confused. Well so the thing is though is it's because it's exciting.
— Yeah your the adrenalin.
— Because you're breaking the rules. It's dangerous.
— Sure.
— It makes you feel like this sense of like, oh, I got away with something.
— Go roller coaster,
— Oh okay Ariana.
— Like push yourself in another way.
— Yes.
— Like go on a run.
— Okay that's great.
— There's adrenaline involved in other things.
— Right. Well, but I think what Ariana is saying is so, so valuable is when we don't have meaningful things, we're giving our lives to, we will find things to fill that need that we have. And that's why at Switch we're so passionate about being a movement of students that doesn't just sit around and twiddle our thumbs, but we actually go and live out our faith.
— Yes.
— And we make the world a better place. Recently we had a Switch serving day
— Yeah.
— Where students from all of our different Life Church locations gathered in their communities to meet the needs of other people. And so we were out serving the poor, taking care of kids in the foster system and just going above and beyond in whatever way we could to meet the needs of people because we know that at the end of the day, the value of our life, isn't just based on doing crazy trends on TikTok. But it's based on the fact that we have been made new by the God who came into history and died on a cross for us. And because of his example, we want to do everything that we can to serve others in the same way that he has served us. And so if you find yourself trying to find something that makes you feel like you matter or significant, then I think one of the best things you can do is be involved in your church, serving in community, in relationship with other people, doing actual things that will make a difference because then you're going to feel that sense of satisfaction and significance, but not because you did something illegal and got away with it because you made somebody else's life better. And that feeling,
— Yes.
— I'm telling you is so much better. Trust me, I've done both right before I knew Jesus, back when I was in middle school and high school, I did all sorts of stupid things to get attention and feel significant. But now that I'm actually in relationship with other people, doing everything I can to help them understand and experience the love of God, that feeling is so, so, so, so much better. I've heard its said this way, that when you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes.
— I love that saying.
— Come on somebody.
— Next up we got some questions from you, some of our Culture Makers, and if you are watching this video and you've got questions, if you've got comments, if you've got suggestions on what you want us to cover in future videos, make sure you leave those down below because we would love...
— Just type in.
— Ooh, type it in.
— Just type it in.
— Now with the, not like this,
— Like this like this.
— Or I guess most of y'all probably like this.
— Oh yeah.
— All right so here's the first question from Triple Black Backpack. I liked that rhyme. Okay.
— Cool.
— That's good. They were asking this question, after I sin, I feel guilt on my conscience. Is this wrong, if I know that I have been saved by Jesus. So is it wrong to feel guilty after you've sinned, even though you've already been saved by Jesus. Ariana? Thoughts?
— I think that that feeling not walking in guilt is that it's good. But I think that sometimes that feeling can draw us to God. And when we pay attention to it, we can repent and we can tell God, Hey, I messed up or I did something I shouldn't have. And I want to grow closer to you. I want to turn from that and be better. And that's what helps us become more like Jesus. Like that is a refining thing. That is good. But I think that if we're walking in guilt and clinging to mistakes that we've made, that is something that I don't think God wants for us.
— Yeah, absolutely. The way I've heard it distinguishes, the differences between guilt and shame is that guilt says I did something bad, but shame tells you that you are bad. And I think this is the thing that's really important for us to understand is that because of Jesus, shame has no hold on us.
— Yeah.
— Now, the reality is is that even if we've been saved, when we do something wrong that hurts ourselves, others are the heart of God. We will feel guilty,
— Yeah. Because we probably should feel guilty, right? Like if I were to punch Ariana in the face right now and feel zero guilt afterwards, that would be super messed up. Right?
— Yeah.
— And in the same way that if I go home and I lied to my wife, I should feel guilty because if I am numb to the wrongs that I'm doing to other people, then that's probably a really dangerous place to be.
— Definitely.
— But it is through that feeling of guilt that we are aware of the fact that, oh, I did something wrong. So you know what? I need to make things right. I need to confess and I need to repent. I need to admit that I screwed up and I need to turn back to God and work towards restoring whatever relationship I've hurt in the process of my wrongdoing. Now, again, that's really different though, from shame, which takes the things that we've done wrong and then obsesses over those to the point where we now identify ourselves based on the wrongs that we've committed rather than the grace of Jesus that we've been given. And so if you find yourself feeling a little bit guilty after you mess up, know that that's actually a really good thing.
— Yeah.
— And that's a sign that God is inviting you to experience the freedom and forgiveness he offers, the way that you experienced that is through confession and repentance. If you find yourself in a place though, where you are overwhelmed by shame, then I would tell you that the same way that we deal with guilt is how we deal with shame, confession, and repentance. We be really honest with the people around us. We open ourselves up to them to help them see all of the mess that we've been walking through because here's the deal. God already knows it. And he sees past your shame to who you really are. But in order for us to actually experience his grace and forgiveness, we have to open ourselves up to God and to other people. And that can be really, really scary, but I'm telling you it is so, so healing. So is it wrong if you feel a little bit guilty after you sin, even though you've been saved? No, not at all. That's a great indicator that God is inviting you to experience forgiveness through confession and repentance. We just want to be really careful that we don't allow that guilt to fester for so long that it turns into shame.
— So good.
— Next question for you. This is from Pretheba Rasheen Orwell.
— Okay.
— Is it a sin for Christians to get a tattoo? Yes.
— I hope not.
— Oh shoot.
— You just went straight for the yes. Okay, I'm just kidding. The answer that we would say is no. And the reason being is because the old Testament law that talks about tattoos and calls them sinful was a part of the mosaic covenant. So this was the covenant that God made with Moses and the Nation of Israel. So one of the important things to recognize is that we as Christians, we live under the new Testament, the new covenant, which is this new partnership that God created with his people, where now Jewish people and non-Jewish people can all be a part of God's family together. And this new covenant has been defined by the new command that Jesus gave Appalas chaperone John chapter 13, verse 34 and 35, where he says a new command I give to you, to love one another in the same way that I have loved you. So you are to love one another. So that is the defining ethic for those of us who are Christians living under the new covenant. Now in the old Testament, the Nation of Israel, after God liberated them from slavery in Egypt, he formed them into this nation and he told them that he was going to make them a holy nation, a set apart nation. That would be very different from all the other nations. So they could represent him to the rest of the world. And so what God did, is he gave them a series of laws and instructions to show them how to live as people that would stand out from the rest of the world. Because the thing that's so powerful about our God is that he is totally unique. There is no other God or being, or creature like him in all of creation. And so in order for these Jewish people to represent the otherness of God well, they had to live lives that looked very different than everybody else. And so they were given a series of laws that are found throughout the first five books of the Bible, the Torah, and in those laws, what these people are being shown is this is how you live in order to look different than everybody else. And one of those laws is the law to not get a tattoo because in that day and age, the surrounding nations would oftentimes tattoo themselves as a form of worship to false gods. And so what God is saying is, Hey, I don't want you to follow the same practices that they do because the way that you honor me is not through tattooing your body. The way that you honor me is through loving me with every part of who you are and loving your neighbor as yourself. And so then when we get the new covenant with Jesus, inviting non-Jewish people into the family of God, he doesn't pick that law back up for us. He doesn't say, Hey, in order to believe in me, you have to repent believe and also make sure you don't get tattoos. And so the thing that's important to recognize is that the old Testament law was given to the people of Israel living in the old Testament, living in an ancient time so that they could represent God to the rest of the world. Whereas now, as followers of Jesus, we have been given a new covenant with a new set of commands that help us better understand what does it look like to live as his followers today? So for you as a Christian, who's asking the question, is it wrong for me to get, to get a tattoo? We would say the answer is no, but I think the next question you should ask is, is it wise? And the reason why I think this question is important is because I have a number of friends who have thought carefully about getting tattoos and they've done it because it's something meaningful and that matters. I have also some friends who let their friend tattoo them in the back of a frozen custard shop with like a jenky homemade tattoo device.
— Wow.
— And it ended up looking really bad and it got super infected.
— Yeah.
— And so that's really the question we should be asking as followers of Jesus when it comes to tattoos, not is it sinful but is it wise because there are really wise ways to go about this. There are really wise ways to mark our bodies in a way that's actually meaningful. And we'll be glad that we got it years and years down the road. And then there's some things that maybe we just do it on a whim that we will come to regret later.
— Yes. And also what a great question to be asking just in general, like this person, I forget their username.
— Pretheba Rasheen Orwell.
— Yes. I just think that's awesome that you're asking those questions, that you're wondering
— Absolutely.
— And just being curious. So good job.
— Well wonderful, welcome to this week's episode of Culture Makers. We're so glad that you joined us and now we're about to leave. Make sure you comment down below, like subscribe. Okay bye.