Why do I make youtube videos? This post is pretty long, so I divided it up a bit to make the reading easier. I hope this post gives a clear definition of who I am and how youtube videos fit in with who I am.
Why so clean?
Our media today is very saturated with immorality. Don't believe me? Turn on the TV for 5 minutes, look at the top videos on youtube for the day. I guarantee there are many things that dishonor God in those two things alone. Entertainment has the potential to be clean, family friendly, and still enjoyable for everyone. Don't believe me? Check out Balloonshop. Those guys never put anything bad in their videos, and look at how much you laugh. I get comments all the time from people who say "Wow! People who are funny without swearing! I didn't think that was possible!" In a sense, channels like mine and balloonshop are the edgiest channels on youtube. Everyone tries to push the line now-a-days. We are different because we intentionally go where no one else goes- G rated clean comedy. Very few channels like this exist on youtube today, but I vow to be one of them. But is that all there is to it? No.
More than entertainment.
I want people to know that I am a Christian. Many claim to be Christian because it's the easy thing to do in America. But my Christianity is so much more than that. It defines who I am. It has utterly changed my life. It gives me purpose. The Bible tells Christians to do all things through Christ. All things. That means everything from doing good to others, to the things we do every single day, to our hobbies. I know that following Jesus won't make me popular. But that's okay. In this world of no absolutes, I have found Truth. And I know that Truth is worth holding onto despite what I may lose because of it.
On youtube, I must also take a hit because of my faith. Many of the top people on youtube do not care much about God or what will happen to them when they die (we will all die at some point, don't forget this!). They want fame, they want money. How do many of them attract viewers? With edginess. This edginess often comes in the form of swearing, sexual innuendos, sexually explicit thumbnails. Whatever they can do to get viewers is all that matters because the 15 minutes of fame that they have found through youtube gives them a meaning and a purpose.
My moral guidelines on youtube.
So all that being said, if my purpose on youtube isn't to get rich or famous, then what is it? How can I combine my Christian life with my youtube page. These are my personal guidelines for making youtube videos.
1) Do not dishonor God in my videos. This is the umbrella rule, it is the overriding principle that I live by on youtube. It effects all my other rules.
2) Never swear in videos. I realize that adding a swear word in at just the right time can be a huge help in comedy. And in the eyes of most, my videos would become more interesting if we threw in some swear words. But I refuse to do that because I do not want to dishonor my God.
3) No sexual content. I must admit that there were a few times in the past where a hint of an innuendo slipped in here and there if you are watching closely and thinking along those lines, and over time as I have grown in my faith, this has become unacceptable. That is why I removed the milkshake music video. That entire song was an innuendo.
Those are the three most important guidelines that I follow, and as long I focus on guideline number 1, the rest fall into place. God has given each of us abilities and I thank Him for that. If my ability is to make videos, then I know that he takes enjoyment in what I am doing if I do it in a way that honors him. To God I give the glory.
What I believe:
Earlier I mentioned that I am willing to take a hit for the fact that I believe in Jesus. Perhaps some of you are interested in what I believe, and I would love to share that with you! I believe that humans are sinful by nature, this is seen true in small children. No one has to teach them how to lie, they just do it. Not everyone is a murderer or a rapist, but most people hate someone, or have had lustful thoughts, and Jesus says that those are sins that share equal consequences in the eyes of God. You see God is perfect and just, and therefore there are consequences for not meeting up to his standard of perfection. God is the eternal judge, the ultimate authority. If you told a lie to a child, the child may cry. If you told that same lie to your best friend, you may not be friends anymore. If you told that same lie to a judge, you could be thrown into prison. So as the authority goes up, so does the consequences. God is eternal, He was there in the beginning, and He will be there in the end. Therefore, consequences from God are eternal.
Think of it as a court-room, and God is the judge. If you were in court with a huge speeding fine, one that was far too overwhelming for you to even begin to pay, and if you stood before the judge and said, "Judge, I cannot pay this fine. I'm very sorry for speeding, please let me go." and would the judge say, "Well okay, if you are sorry I guess I won't make you pay the fine"? What kind of a judge would that be!? No, the judge would require payment for the law that you broke or you would be thrown in prison until you could pay the fine.
Fortunately for us, God is also merciful, and He knew that we humans could not reach his righteous requirements. So that is why he sent Jesus, who was both man and God, so that Jesus could live a perfect life and die in our place. Thinking back to the courtroom, the judge demands payment. Now imagine that someone came in and said "Here is the amount that this person owes." And he paid your fine for you! You would be very thankful to that person, and I highly doubt you would speed again. Jesus is that man, he paid the fine for us. All we must do is trust in him as the only solution to the sin that you will be required face God for someday. Jesus promises that if you put your full trust in him, he will change your life, and this problem of not measuring up to God's standards will diminish.
I'm not just sharing this message with you because I am obligated to as a Christian, I am sharing it with you because I deeply care about you, and I want to see you in heaven someday. It's easy to get distracted by all the things we think are important here on earth. But think of the day you will die. You must face your own mortality! That day will come, and it could be today. Then school, your parents, youtube, money, and whatever else you care about will not matter anymore. All that will matter is if you know Jesus Christ.
I can tell you firsthand that this is TRUTH. Jesus has changed my life. Will you let him change yours?
Thank you for reading that, please comment if you have any questions, or e-mail me. Peace out! God bless!
-Billgrip
What I've Learned from one year of Marriage
So you're thinking about getting married?
On average, one out of every two marriages in America fail. No one seems to take the vow "till death do we part" seriously...maybe it should be changed to "till difficult times do we part." That would be more accurate. Not that everyone who divorces is without excuse- some are victims of abuse and affairs, but rarely do people try to fix a broken marriage anymore. This isn't how it is supposed to be. The idea of marriage is to find someone to be with for the rest of your life- someone to share a life with, someone who completes you, someone you want to raise children with and grow old with.
As of today I have been married for 438 days. I am confident I have found the right person, just as confident as I was when I asked her to marry me. And I am also confident that I love her more today than I did that day, even though I loved her a lot then! If I told in detail about what I've learned through one year of marriage, I could probably write an entire book. But for this, I will hit a few things that really stand out to me. Let's get real.
1) Get in touch with reality. Many of us formulate our opinions about love, marriage, and happiness by what media tells us. According to movies, lose your virginity as soon as you think you are in love because sex will make your life perfect. Movies don't show the long-term and incredibly fulfilling value of saving yourself for your wedding night, for the ONE person you will spend the rest of your life with. The "fairy-tale" ending that so many movies show usually suggest marriage is some sort of never-ending bliss where you can eat your favorite ice-cream every day while riding on a unicorn. Although I am VERY HAPPY, I will be the first to admit that there are bumps in the road, which brings me to my next point.
2) You are going to face conflict. Perhaps your relationship has been peachy keen to this point. But don't forget, it's easy to always be at your best when you are only together for a few hours on a date. In marriage, you will see each other at your worst. If you are trying to mask anything about yourself while you are dating, it will come out in marriage...and if it doesn't then you aren't really giving yourself to your spouse 100%. I love being married, but there are those days where I'm not too thrilled about the way things are going. There are many sources of conflict within a marriage, number 1 being selfishness.
3) Let go of your pride. If you haven't learned to admit when you are wrong, then you better be a quick learner. Why did you agree to marry each other in the first place? Because you love each other, duh. But what does it mean to really love each other? It means being selfless, it means putting your spouse above yourself in all things. When conflict comes up, it's very easy to forget why you love each other and act very selfishly. In most situations, you are likely both at fault in one way or another. Step back, take a deep breath, and think about how you are wrong rather than how your spouse is wrong. Selfishness is huge, but there are still other reasons conflict will arise.
4) You are two very different people. As if the differences between men and women aren't enough already, you have to remember that you both grew up very differently and think differently about almost everything. For instance, Lindsay thinks the way I make oatmeal is ridiculous and we actually got in a fight about it once. C'mon, it's just oatmeal! Who cares if I make it "glue-like" as she calls it. Another example: to me, biting fingernails is a detestable habit. But Lindsay bites her nails all the time without thinking about it, so I try to help her stop, but I have to get over the fact that she still may bite them regardless of my efforts.
5) Responsibility, what's that? I must admit that I have had a hard time letting go of the "bachelor" that I once was. I definitely enjoyed pwning noobs and wasting my money on eating out or ordering pizza because I was too lazy to cook my own meals. Life was pretty fun then, but now I must lay much of that aside, not that life can't still be fun, it is just that my responsibilities are different. I highly recommend getting a budget and a financial plan before you are married and learn to be responsible with your money, because that is probably the first thing you'll have to get figured out once you do get married or you'll find yourself in all sorts of unnecessary debt. I also had to give up a lot of my bro time, part of that is because I moved away, but even if we all lived in the same area, there would still be nights where I need to stay home with my wife. I could go more into this responsibility issue, but there are many more aspects to it.
Looking back at all that I just wrote, I realize I gave you a lot of the perceived "negative" truths about marriage. Trust me, I could write a blog 10 times this long about the things I love about marriage, and maybe I'll do that sometime. But my best advice to you who are considering marriage at this point is that you come into it with a realistic point of view- that you may be best prepared when times get tough. Honestly, getting married is second only to my salvation as the best thing that has ever happened to me. God brought me together with a woman who is perfect for me, and I am convinced that God created us for each other. And despite our joy with each other, our goal is ultimately to honor God in our marriage and in our individual lives. If you keep that foundation in your own life and in your marriage, Jesus says that it is like building your house on a rock that won't be washed away when the storms come. Above all else, build your life and your marriage on the Rock!
-Billgrip
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