Ghetto Fabulous Christian

Let’s look at the definition of Ghetto – initially it referred to an area that a specific racial or ethnic background resided, be-it voluntary or involuntarily pushed into a seclusion type scenario. Historically it referred to Jews who lived in Venice formed from the Latin word Glittu – which was considered the Italian ghetto. The term has changed over the course of time and id now the label of any poverty stricken urban area. These areas are considered “bad” areas because of high crime, drugs, prostitution, murder, and high unemployment. The buildings are oft times derelict, abandoned, and destroyed. All of the people in the ghetto are not bad, but the location as a whole receives a stigma of being bad and the people are labeled ghettoized. My grandmother used to say, ghetto is as ghetto does. Simply saying that everyone in the ghetto is not ghetto unless they act ghetto.

Most who live in the ghetto have hopes and dreams of one day getting out of this position. Many young people strive to get educated to elevate themselves so that they can do better and have more. Many parents who live in the ghetto strive to do as much as they can to assure their children have a better life than they did. Striving to move out of the ghetto into the suburbs. But there is more to merely moving from the ghetto, you have to let the ghetto attitude go.

I looked up the term ghetto fabulous. It refers to persons who either try to perpetrate an attitude that they don’t live in the ghetto, by dressing the part. But their attitude and demeanor is still ghetto. Or it refers to those who have made it out, moved up to the penthouse, but simply took the ghetto from the hood to the burbs. Simplified, if you were a crack head in the ghetto and didn’t change your ways when you moved to the burbs, you are still a crack head. If you were a pimp in the ghetto and didn’t change when you moved to the burbs, you are still a pimp. You are playing a role… You are Ghetto Fabulous!

Before Jesus, we were ghetto! Destined to live in the slum of sin. Before we gave our lives to Christ, we were in the ghetto. The ghetto of despair and desperation. Doing what ever felt good, going after whatever looked good, but not really feeling good. Someone offered us an opportunity to move out of our slum state and we grabbed a hold. But did we take the ghetto with us to the salvation suburb? Are we ghetto fabulous in our actions? Are we ghetto fabulous Christians?

Before salvation, we did as we wanted for our own pleasure but were destined to a life where happiness was secured by stuff, peace was based on bank accounts, love was based on sexual gratification, and security could come from alcohol, drugs, or a quickie. But each of these ghetto buildings left us in a desperate state. And we were on our way to the largest ghettoest project housing, “hell”, run by the slumlord king himself, Satan.

But Jesus gave us the opportunity to move from the ghetto. John 3:16 For God so loved --- & Romans 10:8 that if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. This gave us the opportunity to move to the suburbs of Salvation and prepare to move to our mansion in the sky. But if we continue to live the way we did before Christ – we have brought the ghetto with us. Ghetto Fabulous Christians

The scripture Romans 8:28-29 tells us that --We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him. They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose, and he has always known who his chosen ones would be. He had decided to let them become like his own Son, so that his Son would be the first of many children.

God came to the ghetto and said I know you want more, I know you deserve better, it’s time to move on up! I’m going to put in you what is necessary to give you a good life, to have a good heart, to do good deeds, to be a good person.

2 Cor. 3:18 – says So our faces are not covered. They show the bright glory of the Lord, as the Lord’s Spirit makes us more and more like our glorious Lord. Therefore we don’t have to put on heirs on Sunday morning and forget who our daddy is Sunday evening. He has placed in each of us the ability to “JUST SAY NO.”