There’s no one like Jesus.
To give His rightful name – the Lord Jesus Christ.
There’s no other friend or Saviour like Him.
He is truly awesome. If ever there was a word exclusively reserved for the Lord Jesus, this is probably it, hands down.
Which makes me wonder – may we use “awesome” for God and then say that a certain Black Thorn durian or “bak chor mee” is also “awesome”? There must be other words available, like “superb” or “fantastic” that may pass muster for super-delicious food, out-of-this-world scenery or spirit-stirring music, even a football penalty well taken. One or the other.
What other word would we find and set aside for the Lord Jesus? Thankfully, in heaven, we shall possess adequate vocabulary for our praises and thanksgiving. He’s truly Incomparable. There is none like Him.
Philippians 2:9 declares this: “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name…” And we are in complete alignment when we lift the name of Jesus to the highest place.
Which brings us to the subject of putting people on a pedestal. This is done even among the Christian community. Maybe it is okay for the world to do it with their celebrities. Somebody has to be the “Person of the Year”. How else are they to be recognised, respected or rewarded? It’s in human nature to “crown” these gifted or talented people, sometimes to quite an extent – beyond money, medals and titles. They earned it. So let it be.
Normally, a person gains their accolades long after he or she is dead and gone. It is usually a fitting recognition of some great contribution or achievement in life – be they an explorer, pioneer, inventor, statesman, sports star, even a philanthropist. But these are not normal times.
There are people today who are known for nothing else than that they are…well, well-known (thanks to social media)! No other achievements or accomplishments. Imagine, well-known for being well-known!
But there’s still a sting in the tail, as Beth Moore commented: “You have not quite lived in this ridiculously silly celebrity culture until you've been told one day how loved you are and the next day how hated you are – and sometimes by the same individual.”
Maybe the story of the post turtle can lend itself to our take on celebrities. Never heard of it? Then get ready to chuckle.
“An old rancher is talking about politics with a young man from the city. He compares a politician to a ‘post turtle’. The young man doesn’t understand and asks him what a post turtle is.
The old man says, ‘When you’re driving down a country road and you see a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that’s a post turtle. You know he didn’t get up there by himself. He doesn’t belong there; he can’t get anything done while he’s up there; and you just want to help the poor, dumb thing down.’”
There are people today who are known for nothing else than that they are…well, well-known (thanks to social media)! No other achievements or accomplishments. Imagine, well-known for being well-known!
None less than the former President Bill Clinton of the USA reportedly said something similar: "If you see a turtle sitting on top of a fence post, it didn't get there by accident." It got there with a lot of help from others. (Was Clinton alluding that he owed his own success to the support of others?) Few of us make it all on our own.
In a more serious tone, Joshua Becker (of “Becoming Minimalist”) warned: “This, in my opinion, is where we as a society begin to go wrong. Among researchers, ‘celebrity worship’ is an academic term that refers to a continuum of unhealthy personal responses to celebrity status – ranging from attraction to uncontrollable behaviors and fantasies. According to some studies, 33% of people fall somewhere on this continuum in their interaction with celebrities – although only a miniscule amount would suffer from obsessional tendencies.”
One and Only – that’s our Lord Jesus. Truly awesome. Let’s keep it that way.
What is in this new issue?
VOL. 48 NO. 3 of IMPACT Magazine
CHRISTIAN VALUES IN A CELEBRITY CULTURE By Ajith Fernando
IS YOUR CHILD YOUR IDOL? By robert Solomon
GOD'S MONEY, YOUR PRIORITIES. By Jeremy Ong
SOME MUSINGS ON THE SINGAPORE CELEBRITY CULTURE. By Ernie Song
DON'T LET FAME SPOIL YOU. By Mary Yeo-Carpenter
BLINDED BY THE BRIGHT LIGHTS
~ The Impact Panel responds ~
JOY: A GOSPEL ESSENTIAL OR HAPPY BY-PRODUCT? By Peter Teagle
THE LEPROSY OF NARCISSISM
...The devil's way of destroying community.
By John Carpenter
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