There is a common stereotype that white boys can’t dance. Some misinformed individuals obviously have never heard of Justin Timberlake, Vanilla Ice, or…did I say Justin Timberlake already? Sick and tired of the label stuck on our fellow Caucasians, my brother and I decided to set the record straight once and for all.
We were at a college fellowship in Botswana, Africa. After an intense game of 21 on the basketball court, I was on my way back for a seventh hamburger when… “Everybody, it’s time for our dance competition!” Dance competition?! I frantically tried to escape but was trapped by the crowd. I shrank back into the shadows, attempting to blend in. “We need some white boys out here; where are Mike and Dan?” I froze, hoping that if I remained motionless nobody would notice me. My brother did the same; but we were outnumbered about 15-1, so it was not hard to find the terrified white boys in the crowd. A cheer erupted as we were dragged on to the dance floor. The competition was simple: follow the group number and try not to mess up. However, we seemed to be the only ones unfamiliar with the dance! Finally, my brother and I locked eyes and seemed to have the same idea. Breaking off from the rest of the group, we started with a basic top rock to pump up the crowd and progressed into a power circle. I could feel the beat of the music matching the rhythm of my heart as I coin dropped and began to spin. From my windmill I could see Dan astonishing the crowd with The Worm. Jumping back to my feet, I hit them with a deadly combination of the Shopping Cart, Sprinkler and Robot. Dan flipped out of his Darkhammer, gave me a high-five and stretched into a Pike. Thoughts rushed through my head: Why had I not auditioned for the lead role in “Step Up?” Would I let fame ruin me after I won “So You Think You Can Dance?” When did Dan learn to do a Headglide? The music ended and the results were announced: “Everyone has advanced to the next round! Well, almost everyone. Mike and Dan, thank you so much for participating!” Some people have no appreciation for potential.
A hypocrite can also be described as a “pretender.” They give the outward impression of something, but it is a false image. Jesus did not appreciate hypocrites. In Matt 6:5, He warns us not to act as if we are more spiritual than we are. However, one of the biggest problems the world has with Christians today is hypocrisy. The world doesn’t need to see pretenders; they need to see real people transformed by a real God. I could only fake my way so far through a dance competition before it became obvious to everyone how good I really was (or wasn’t!). The same is true with my faith: If I am faking, it’s only a matter of time before people see right through the charade.
Mike Blackaby is 25 years old and is the college and young adult pastor at First Baptist Church in Jonesboro, GA. Mike loves to play music, loves to snowboard, play hockey, and cheers for the Colorado Avalanche. He is terrified of spiders, but loves reading fantasy novels, watching movies, taking road trips, building camp fires, and will do any roller coaster if someone goes with him. You can contact him via Facebook.