American Idol Christianity

“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Matthew 6: 1-4

Reality television programs are everywhere, and on every channel. They have become the pre-eminent sign post for our "look at me - and love me" generation. Our culture is filled with people who crave the spotlight and the public adoration that comes with it, and they all seem to find their way on to our digital airwaves. American Idol is probably the biggest of all of these shows: aspiring singers primp, strut, gyrate, and even sing for the judges in front of them and in the homes of America in the hopes that they will be affirmed and adored. Everyone wants to be celebrated and famous - even if it means the possibility of being publicly shamed and berated by the Simon Cowell's of the world.

I wonder how much these shows have infiltrated our cultural fabric and our thinking. I mean, our sinful nature has always been selfishness and self-idolatry at its core. By nature, all humans have a natural tendency to pride and self love over and against humility and love of neighbor (and God). These shows have subtly given us the permission we crave to pursue the spotlight in all we do in life. How often have you found yourself craving the spotlight, or an undo amount of attention and affirmation for others? How many times have you done things for the applause of others?

On the flip side, I wonder if these shows have also subtly turned us into a nation of harsh critics of performance rather than intent. Do we all not subconsciously turn into Simon Cowell when others "perform." I've often suspected that many of the "worship wars" running rampant in the church today are symptomatic of this tendency to critique harshly. How often have we sat in a worship service and not liked the song (for whatever reason) and thought..."absolutely horrible." I mean, we judged their outward performance rather than delighting in the presence of God and the gifts that He has given them.

Being a disciple of Christ in this culture, who seeks to live a life of righteousness is difficult at best. On the one hand, we have a cultural tendency to want to shine a spotlight on our godliness. We want everyone to see how good of a Christian we are. Yet on the other hand, we live out our Christian witness in the gaze of a harshly critical public eye just looking for a reason to knock us down a peg. So how are we to life a life of discipleship in this day and age of American Idol Christianity?

Jesus tells us "to be careful not to do our righteous acts before men in order to be seen by them." Our acts of mercy, our life of piety, our spiritual disciplines ought to be done in humble service to God, and not for the approval of those in our culture. To do any type of christian living for the applause of humanity is to try to bring the glory on ourselves and not to our great God. The reward of a faithful christian life is not the fame and celebrated applause of human culture, rather it is the simple pleasure and joy of serving a loving and faithful God.

Be God's, Scott
ps. remember, no blog's on Sundays :)