Daily Archives: February 1, 2012
Celebrity Endorsement: Putting Faith In A God
Any time a celebrity makes an anti-church, anti-religious, anti-institutional statement, everyone jumps on board. It caters to our dormant mob mentality to rush any supposed collective that corrupts the individual. Somehow, a mildly talented person has more credibility due to their celebrity. An opinion gains a legitimate edge when it drops from a popular venue.
It’s easy to blog and reblog big issues whittled down to two flamboyant sentences with our own snarky affirmations. We don’t stop — or want to stop — to verify facts or seek truth in these proclamations: we grab verbal pitchforks and torch the nearest building with the people still inside. Down with higher authority, we yell, because it’s easier to form a cause around destruction instead of deliverance.
Quote: Dirt
“When my daughter was a toddler, I used to take her to a park not far from our apartment. One day as she was playing in a sandbox, an ice-cream salesman approached us. I purchased her a treat, and when I turned to give it to her, I saw her mouth was full of sand. Where I had intended to put a delicacy, she had put dirt.
Did I love her with dirt in her mouth? Absolutely. Was she any less of my daughter with dirt in her mouth? Of course not. Was I going to allow her to keep the dirt in her mouth? No way. I loved her right where she was, but I refused to leave her there. I carried her over to the water fountain and washed out her mouth. Why? Because I love her.
God does the same for us. He holds us over the fountain. ‘Spit out the dirt, honey,’ our Father urges. ‘I’ve got something better for you.’ And so he cleanses us of filth; immorality, dishonesty, prejudice, bitterness, greed. We don’t enjoy the cleansing; sometimes we even opt for the dirt over the ice cream. ‘I can eat dirt if I want to!’ we pout and proclaim. Which is true — we can. But if we do, the loss is ours. God has a better offer.”
— Max Lucado
