Streep, Trump, or the Holy Bible?
This week the buzz was actress Meryl Streep’s speech at the Golden Globes. Her obvious disdain for the president-elect sounded out in a quiet room of actors and actresses and rumbled across the landscape of America. In response came a few tweets from Donald Trump, discounting the comments and defending himself. I know for myself personally it was no fun to watch from either side, and nothing was accomplished that made for peace and tranquility in a nation already divided.
There was one thing, however, that immediately crossed my mind. As this was all being digested by Americans I wondered to myself just how much, really, do people let public figures influence what they think? Do we side with one person’s view over another because they have a political stance that is closer to our own? Do we believe in them because they are rich and famous, or because we like them, or because they have social acceptance or political clout?
People are fallible. Even if they have good intentions we need to be very careful about ever putting our trust in people. If you are like me, you have been burned on several occasions when you really liked someone and admired them and even championed them in some fashion, only to have them do something that was so overly horrendous that you were embarrassed to admit that you had ever even been a fan.
I am reminded that the only person we can ever imitate completely and without reservation is Jesus. The only communicated code we can allow to influence and shape our views is the Holy Bible. The words of the Lord are pure words, they are righteous, true, holy, and without partiality. God’s message is love and grace and mercy to all, balanced with perfect discipline and judgment. Morality begins and ends with God, as does absolute truth and the peace which can only be found in complete obedience and surrender to His perfect will.
Let Hollywood and government and the media and every other realm of social order say what they want to say. We will continue to live within our society, obey the laws of the land, and respect the authority under which we have been placed. But let the record show that God my Father reigns in heaven, that Jesus the Son is my only example and my Savior, and that the blessed Holy Spirit dwells in me and will be the ultimate influence on what I think and believe as I read the Holy Word He has delivered.
“What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, ‘That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged’” – Romans 3:3-4
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AUTHOR: Jeremiah Tatum
