June 22, 2008
“Everyone who acknowledges me before
others I will acknowledge
before my heavenly Father.”…
– JESUS (Matthew
We live in an age of celebrities. Warlike cultures will enshrine their
warriors. Intellectual movements will
exalt their scholars. Commercial
cultures will honor their businessmen.
Whatever is of greatest value in the hearts of the people will be the
greatest pursuit and receive highest recognition.
Our entertainment culture seems to give us
a slough of people to celebrate. In the
midst of our posters, autographs, trophies, plaques, and photos, we do well to
ask: What value is exalted in our
celebration? If it is excellence, what
motivates the desire for excellence? If
we are thoughtful about our pursuits and pastimes, we may end up asking: What does any celebrity status offer?
Celebrity promises everything in the eyes
of the world, yet Our Lord holds the objection:
“What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, but lose his very
soul?” Our Lord’s question should
stop us in our tracks of celebrity seeking or love of fame. What or whom should
we be truly celebrating? What or whom should we be acknowledging?
The answer is a “who,” and the person desires an uncompromised relationship, a commanded relationship. Encountering the Scriptural command to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind may leave us sad, like the rich young man, because we seem to have much to lose. (continued à )
