OK time to admit something…. I really like reality T.V. A lot… Like a whole lot.
I get into it… the people, the drama, and the ridiculous challenges. I am glued to the T.V. for the entire show.
I even have this silly dream to be on one of these shows one day.
I love the roles that people play. The bad boy, the out spoken drama starter, the entitled silver spooner, or even the crazy religious person. You know the one right? The one telling everyone that they are right because God is on their side and no one else’s… Sometimes I wonder why does this person think this? Where does Jesus say that you will defiantly succeed if you are a Christian? That’s not the Christ that I read.
I am promised everlasting life, but not smooth sailing. Jesus says blessed are you if you are persecuted in my name, because it is in fact joining the great tradition of believers (see Matt 5:10-12). In fact Jesus says that we need to take up our Cross daily Just like He did (see Luke 9:22-24)… to me that sounds painful, sounds like persecution, it sounds hard.
So why then on reality T.V. do people feel that the Christian road is the smoothest road out there? Christ compares the walk of a Christian to the worst persecution and torture of the day and they say it’s a party, it’s easy, and above that it requires nothing. And you know what’s great about that, on Reality T.V. if you call yourself a Christian your lifestyle doesn’t have to match up. You can be the most spiteful, hateful, rude, inconsiderate, greedy, self-centered person you can imagine, but as long as you read your bible, call yourself a Christian you are in like Flint.
Because in the reality T.V. world the important thing isn’t that you are an honorable person but it’s that you win. That the million dollars or the half-million, or the recording contract, or the fame is yours at the end of the day, not for any other reason but that you beat other people. And when you win you will say “I would like to thank God, because he helped me win this game.” or “God made me win this prize.”
I don’t get it, I just don’t understand it. Because we know I’m not just talking about the Reality T.V. world.
The other day I heard a speech about America’s position on diplomatic talks with enemy nations and 3rd world nations, and the speaker actually said the he doesn’t believe that talking with the president of America should be a prize to be won or a privilege for the elite. When I heard this I was encouraged, here was a man that was running for president that actually said what I feel, that there should not be an “us vs. them” mentality in the world.
I shared this story with some close friends and there thoughts were staggering. I heard one person say that “this is unpatriotic” and others said that it was anti-American and so on. The sentiment was that we as Americans have worked to be the number one country in the world and with that comes with the privilege to act superior. It hurt to hear my friends say this, not just because they disagree with me but because they are Christians and are placing there allegiance to there country ahead of there allegiance to God.
How do we as Christian separate our allegiance, our changed lives, our sense of right and wrong for money, prosperity, or politics? I see it every day, hate, greed, selfishness all put ahead of the God who rescued us.
Last night I was watching more reality T.V.
But this time it was something special. American Idol last night was a special show called “Idol Gives Back,” on this show for over 2 hours celebrities were raising money for kids all around the world living in poverty and disease. I was crying nearly every time that showed a child living with AIDS or kids living on the street. Because to me it is such a simple problem to fix.
And in the middle of it all I heard a song.
I had heard this song before but never really responded to it because I didn’t like how it sounded, but last night someone covered it and for the first time I heard this lyric:
So you scream from behind your door
Say “what’s mine is mine and not yours”
I may have too much but I’ll take my chances
Because God’s stopped keeping score
And you cling to the things they sold you
Did you cover your eyes when they told you
That he can’t come back
Because he has no children to come back for
‘Praying for Time’
I wept.
You see God cares what we do here in this country. And God cares what we do with our wealth.
One of my favorite stories in the bible is the story of the rich young ruler. In this story a man comes up to Jesus and asks him what does he have to do to obtain eternal life? And Jesus says “obey the commandments” then the man says “I have done that my whole life, what else?”
Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him,
“One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”
But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Mark 10:21-22 NKJV
You see it’s not enough to say we are Christian, read the Bible, and then abandon everything when certain things come into the picture.
The Rich man stayed rich, my friends didn’t want to be “unpatriotic”, and the reality T.V. star won the prize. And all they had to do was walk away.
Jesus isn’t asking for a statement of faith but for people to take up the cross and follow him.
