As I was driving down the freeway this morning my eyes were drawn to a billboard encouraging people to watch the brand new season of American Idol. There was a picture of an attractive young woman holding a microphone with tears streaming down her face. She had either been told some very good news about her singing talent, or had received the devastating critique that she didn't have the requisite talent to be a contestant on the show. What really caught my attention, though, was the subscript at the bottom of the sign which read, "#thisisreal."
This is real? I don't think so. I know it is a"reality show"populated by real people in a real contest to win fame, fortune and all the supposed goodness that comes with the proclamation of a winner. It is still a manufactured product made for the general public to consume and be distracted from that which is truly real. The purpose of this blog is not to put down American Idol. I have watched the show for several years, and I do enjoy seeing the amount of talented people that live in this country. We have become sanitized and pacified by the media to where we believe that the American Idols, X Factors, Honey Boo-Boos and Duck Dynasties are reality, when they are at their core, manufactured for your amusement (from Middle French, 15th century, which means to divert one's attention, to beguile or delude - Online Etymology Dictionary).
So, the question must be asked, what is real? Real is seen right outside the front door. Real is seen in the number of homeless people that live on the streets of our cities. Real is the twenty-right million people who are trapped in slavery worldwide, some of whom are being trafficked through Dallas and Fort Worth . Real is the children who are being abused physically and sexually in our neighborhoods. Real is the number of people who lack food, clothing and medical care and who die from treatable diseases. The thousands of people who are in prison and persecuted for religious and political reasons is real. The hurt and pain that you see in the eyes of your family, friends and neighbors constitute reality. Real is the number of people groups who have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is what is real.
Real people with real problems need real solutions brought by people who have found the real answer. Christ followers cannot and must not be content to sit on the sidelines and watch the world roll by like some reality television series. We have been mandated by our King to be ambassadors and heralds of His kingdom and to be the ones who advocate for mercy and justice in this broken world. There is hope for the poor, the captive, the abused and neglected. We are going to have to be willing to be involved and get our hands dirty. It is not up to someone else, it is up to us. Let us give our time, our money, ourselves into the lives of others. Real love, real hope, real freedom, real life all from a REAL SAVIOR!
Real people with real problems need real solutions brought by people who have found the real answer. Christ followers cannot and must not be content to sit on the sidelines and watch the world roll by like some reality television series. We have been mandated by our King to be ambassadors and heralds of His kingdom and to be the ones who advocate for mercy and justice in this broken world. There is hope for the poor, the captive, the abused and neglected. We are going to have to be willing to be involved and get our hands dirty. It is not up to someone else, it is up to us. Let us give our time, our money, ourselves into the lives of others. Real love, real hope, real freedom, real life all from a REAL SAVIOR!
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