Christian Celebrity
My pastor did and said something the other day that really made me think. I said that my next post would be on Christian celebrity, so here it is.
There have been some amazing contributions to my local community here lately through certain individuals, that has had a positive effect on the poor. The purpose wasn't to bring glory to man, it was to fulfill the second great commandment, and to bring glory to God. However, on Sunday morning, my pastor went out of his way to take time and recognize these benevolent individuals. The thing that He said was that the purpose of the kindness was to bring glory to God. And that those giving souls will receive their reward in heaven, but that they should also receive recognition here on earth. Showing the work that God has done in their lives.
I'd never thought of it from that perspective before. As I wrote before, we are beings that were created to worship. And we have a propensity to worship the things that we feel like worshipping. We worship the things that impress us.
If for no other reason than geography, there are a lot of "public" people who attend my church. One of them won a Grammy last year, another won several Dove awards and a Grammy last year as well. One of them is the leading receiver for the Tennessee Titans this year. It would be natural for most people to put those individuals on a pedestal. As a matter of fact, most people have to fight the temptation to do that, to realize that they are just people too. People whom God has called, and that their calling is of a more public nature than yours or mine.
I have always intentionally not been impressed by those people or the things that they do, for the simple fact that no other thing besides God deserves my worship. But, I think that my tune has been changed. Changed by the actions of my pastor on Sunday.
No, I will not elevate people to a higher level than they ought to be, but maybe it's not such a bad thing to recognize them and their accomplishments. Because the public recognition of their accomplishments just goes to show that they have submitted their will to God's will, and that they are allowing the Lord to work through them in their gifts (in a perfect world
So here it is...
Should we worship the dancer? The dance? NO!
We need to recognize and worship the Lord of the dance.
Matt
There have been some amazing contributions to my local community here lately through certain individuals, that has had a positive effect on the poor. The purpose wasn't to bring glory to man, it was to fulfill the second great commandment, and to bring glory to God. However, on Sunday morning, my pastor went out of his way to take time and recognize these benevolent individuals. The thing that He said was that the purpose of the kindness was to bring glory to God. And that those giving souls will receive their reward in heaven, but that they should also receive recognition here on earth. Showing the work that God has done in their lives.
I'd never thought of it from that perspective before. As I wrote before, we are beings that were created to worship. And we have a propensity to worship the things that we feel like worshipping. We worship the things that impress us.
If for no other reason than geography, there are a lot of "public" people who attend my church. One of them won a Grammy last year, another won several Dove awards and a Grammy last year as well. One of them is the leading receiver for the Tennessee Titans this year. It would be natural for most people to put those individuals on a pedestal. As a matter of fact, most people have to fight the temptation to do that, to realize that they are just people too. People whom God has called, and that their calling is of a more public nature than yours or mine.
I have always intentionally not been impressed by those people or the things that they do, for the simple fact that no other thing besides God deserves my worship. But, I think that my tune has been changed. Changed by the actions of my pastor on Sunday.
No, I will not elevate people to a higher level than they ought to be, but maybe it's not such a bad thing to recognize them and their accomplishments. Because the public recognition of their accomplishments just goes to show that they have submitted their will to God's will, and that they are allowing the Lord to work through them in their gifts (in a perfect world
So here it is...
Should we worship the dancer? The dance? NO!
We need to recognize and worship the Lord of the dance.
Matt
posted by | 9:55 AM
4 Comments:
It seems to me that there's no harm in recognizing and celebrating the good deeds of a believer; aside from building them up and encouraging them to continue, it also gives us an inspiration to behave in a like manner.
I think we've all got our "Christian celebrities" that we're tempted to put on pedestals - C.S. Lewis is a big one for me - but, as you say, we need to remember the true picture. Allow ourselves to be inspired by them, encouraged by their compassion, boldness, decisiveness, wisdom, wit, or whatever else is noble about them, but also remember that their deeds are only possible because of the Holy Spirit's enabling and inspiration to do good. We admire them because we see in them the reflection of Christ, and in love and wonder we recognize an aspect of the Lord we serve.
There is a definite tension between "letting your light shine" (Matt 5:16) and "so that your Father who sees what is done in secret..."(Matt 6:3-5). Both are shared in the context of the Sermon on the Mount. Without consulting too many commnetaries or too much Willard, anyone have any perspective to share when it is appropriate to do either?
Yay! Glad you could make it Troy!
For those who don't know... Troy just came on staff at my church - and we're very glad to have him.
And as to your question... I suppose (as with so many things) it has to do with the motivation. When we're "letting our light shine" we're showing off what aspect of ourself? Christ in us - that's our light.
We can brag all we want, as long as we're bragging about Jesus.
I think part of the answer can be found in the context of the quotations. Yes, they're both from the Sermon on the Mount, but Christ is talking about different subjects in each case.
In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus has just finished the Beatitudes and wrapped up with exhorting us to be glad in persecution. We are called not only to be the light, but also the salt of the earth (both flavoring and preservative, interestingly enough). Christ commands that we let our "light shine before men" so "that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." As Chris suggests, those deeds that glorify God and are for His honor should be public, and publicly recognized. In that sense, I think Matt's pastor is in the right: charity work in Christ's name would be just the kind of thing to make men believe in God's compassion and mercy and brings honor to Him and His church.
Matthew 6:1-18, on the other hand, disucusses three acts meant to bring rigteousness to the person acting: giving, prayer, and fasting. Each of these is a personal discipline ideally to make us better servants. If your giving, or your constant prayer, or your fasting are publicly praised, it's you who receive the glory; as Christ says in verse 16, those who receive public praise "have received their reward in full." To those who keep these activities private, God will give His own reward--ideally, those qualities we give, pray, and fast for.
Or so it seems to me.
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