It seems that most people crave the attention of our secular and spiritual celebrities. Yes, we have spiritual celebrities! I'd like to pose a question, "Are humans able to handle the radiance that the spotlight emits?" I've long held the belief that only God can be worshiped. In fact, we discover that we (humans) were created to worship Him (Genesis 1:27; Psalms; Romans 12:1-2; Revelation 4:11). This is no great revelation, but it begs the question, "Why do WE desire to be worshiped?" We simply weren't built to handle that kind of attention, scrutiny, pressure.
There have been too many celebrity "failures" of late to even catalog. My heart bleeds for all of them, because it's almost as if they were set up to fail! A friend once told me the danger of spotlights. Of course, they're designed to keep up with the individual on stage. However, if the spot stays on a person too long, they will begin to burn; lose their vision due to the light; and thus, lose their direction!
So, how do we cherish our stars, both spiritual and secular, without replacing the Son? I believe we must communicate our appreciation for the gifts that God has given them. This will keep us from worshiping the gifted, as opposed to worshiping the Giver of the Gifts! We also need to love-mercy! Not long ago I suffered a public humiliation. The ONLY way I made it through was by the loving, corrective, and merciful hands and hearts of God's people.
Since we made them stars, let's not ridicule them when they "fall." I believe we can all benefit from God's "Star-Power!"
There have been too many celebrity "failures" of late to even catalog. My heart bleeds for all of them, because it's almost as if they were set up to fail! A friend once told me the danger of spotlights. Of course, they're designed to keep up with the individual on stage. However, if the spot stays on a person too long, they will begin to burn; lose their vision due to the light; and thus, lose their direction!
So, how do we cherish our stars, both spiritual and secular, without replacing the Son? I believe we must communicate our appreciation for the gifts that God has given them. This will keep us from worshiping the gifted, as opposed to worshiping the Giver of the Gifts! We also need to love-mercy! Not long ago I suffered a public humiliation. The ONLY way I made it through was by the loving, corrective, and merciful hands and hearts of God's people.
Since we made them stars, let's not ridicule them when they "fall." I believe we can all benefit from God's "Star-Power!"
This is an excellent commentary that many of us need to heed. The glare of the spotlight can cause even the best men and women to fail especially when we are seemingly eagerly awaiting the failure, and sometimes helping to create it.
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head . . . it's OK to have heroes and role models, but the only person we should be worshipping is GOD!