I recently received a gift from a good friend and it's a devotional book by John Stott (love him!)that goes through the Bible in a year. I'm really excited about it, I'm hoping it will keep me disciplined. :)
Today's entry was Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him." Stott goes on to explain what it means to be made in "his image" and he gives five answers, so to speak. But at the end he says this,
"... both the OT and the NT affirm that human beings still bear God's image and that this is the reason why we must respect them. The sanctity of human life arises from the value of God's image bears (9:6). Human beings are Godlike beings.They deserve to be loved and served."
As I read this, I started to thinking about Britney Spears. The other day on VH-1, they had a show that was all about Britney and the last year of her life. The show was really ripping her up - how crazy her life has become, how ridiculous of a mother she is, how bad her VMA performance was etc. I watched five minutes of the show and decided to turn it off. I decided that by me watching this show, I was agreeing and saying just as many negative things about her as the show was, or as magazines or perezhilton.com is. I decided that I didn't want to be a part of that bashing of someone created in the image of God.
Let me just say for the record that she has done some pretty wild things and as I reflect back on her earlier music, I think of songs like "Lucky" which says:
Let me just say for the record that she has done some pretty wild things and as I reflect back on her earlier music, I think of songs like "Lucky" which says:
"And they say, she's so lucky, she's a star But she cry, cry, cries in her lonely heart thinking If there's nothing missing in my life Then why do these tears come at night?"
and I think to myself, "Wow, she's just another person walking around in darkness that really needs the light of Jesus." Often when we think about valuing people based on the image of God, we think of young women who are forced into prostitution or something like that, the lowest of the low - but what about those that have the Hollywood lifestyle? Are they any different? Perhaps their socioeconomic status is different or whatever, but shouldn't we too think about them being created in the image of God??
Anyway, I was convicted, that as I read these articles about her and talk trash that I need to remember that she was created in the image of God. She needs to be "loved and served" just as much as I, or any other human being (money or no money, fame or no fame) should. Clearly her life is a wreck and she needs help, but nonetheless she is still a child of God and needs His love in her life. So I'm deciding to not be a part of the world that will analyze her lifestyle and bash her. By joining them I'm saying that she isn't made in God's image and has no value. That's not what God wants from those who call Him Lord. He wants us to treat each other with respect and love, "to love your neighbor as yourself" and that's what I plan to do. Britney Spears is made in the image of God and is of high value to Him and should be of high value to us all.
and I think to myself, "Wow, she's just another person walking around in darkness that really needs the light of Jesus." Often when we think about valuing people based on the image of God, we think of young women who are forced into prostitution or something like that, the lowest of the low - but what about those that have the Hollywood lifestyle? Are they any different? Perhaps their socioeconomic status is different or whatever, but shouldn't we too think about them being created in the image of God??
Anyway, I was convicted, that as I read these articles about her and talk trash that I need to remember that she was created in the image of God. She needs to be "loved and served" just as much as I, or any other human being (money or no money, fame or no fame) should. Clearly her life is a wreck and she needs help, but nonetheless she is still a child of God and needs His love in her life. So I'm deciding to not be a part of the world that will analyze her lifestyle and bash her. By joining them I'm saying that she isn't made in God's image and has no value. That's not what God wants from those who call Him Lord. He wants us to treat each other with respect and love, "to love your neighbor as yourself" and that's what I plan to do. Britney Spears is made in the image of God and is of high value to Him and should be of high value to us all.
