Washing the Stardust Our of Our Eyes
31 Jul 2006
Have you ever heard of Earl Hutchinson, Gene Long, Ray Rains or Edith Wardlaw? Probably not. Who are they? They are a few of the godly people it’s been my privilege to pastor over the years. What’s more, they are but a few of many who faithfully serve our Lord in obscurity. The impact of these unsung saints upon our world will undoubtedly continue to be overlooked until God shines the light of eternity on their extraordinary service. Only then, I fear, will we come to know that the Kingdom of God advanced far more through the everyday lives of common Christians than it ever did through the celebrated lives of celebrity Christians.
In view of the above, why do today’s Christians get so carried away with Christian celebrities? Granted, like those in the presence of the angels (Luke 15:10), we too should rejoice every time a sinner repents, regardless of whether the sinner is world-renowned or totally unknown. But why do we inevitably tout celebrity Christians, even those who are new converts, as exemplary Christians? Why are we far more interested in and braggadocios about adding celebrity scalps to our Bible Belt?
It seems to me that we ought to be very careful about who we present to the world as an exemplary Christian. In the fledgling church, the Apostle Paul was only comfortable offering himself as an example for other believers to emulate. Furthermore, the great apostle restricted his fellow-believers’ following of his example to the extent that he faithfully followed Christ’s example (1 Corinthians 11:1). The criteria, therefore, for serving as an exemplary Christian is not how many best sellers you’ve written, how many gold records you’ve sold, how many Oscars you’ve won, or how high of an office you hold; rather, it is how Christ-like you are. Celebrity has absolutely nothing to do with it. In fact, it can prove detrimental to it, since those with reputations to preserve will find it practically impossible to follow the example of Him who made Himself of no reputation (Philippians 2:7).
By now you’ve probably heard of Mel Gibson’s DUI arrest and subsequent apology. Not only did Gibson apologize for driving drunk, but also for the expletive-laden “barrage of anti-Semitic remarks” made to the arresting officers. Touted by today’s celebrity-crazed Christians as an exemplary Christian, this famous movie star and Oscar winning director, whose 2004 religious blockbuster “The Passion of the Christ” was incorrectly predicted by a credulous church to spark the flames of worldwide revival, is now just another in a long line of celebrity Christians to give the cause of Christ a black eye.
While I do not intend for this article to pour salt into the wounds of Mr. Gibson or his family, I do intend to fling it into the eyes of today’s Christians, in hopes of washing out some of the stardust that so often blinds us. If successful, maybe we’ll start pointing our world to Earl Hutchinson and Edith Wardlaw as exemplary Christians, instead of to some movie star or rock star. If we ever do, the cause of Christ will be far better served.
Don Walton
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