Halftime
What if we are getting it wrong? People don’t need rage, they need relationship. People don’t need condemnation, they need care. If you follow Jesus, let’s take a step back from halftime and see what we can learn.
Before I continue I need to make a confession. I used to think I sat on a high moral horse but the longer I follow Jesus the more I see the need for His ongoing work in my life. That means I am not finished in my spiritual journey and I am not yet like Jesus. I fell off the horse and discovered there is manure on me and I need the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit.
I have heard a lot of anger directed toward the halftime show. I know that in the last several years, I raged as well. I don’t think my rage and indignation helped a single follower of Jesus and did not communicate to anyone who doesn’t follow Jesus that I love them as they are. So how do we navigate the mess that will continue to be the Big Game halftime show?
Invest in the lives of the young and impressionable. People that follow Jesus don’t have to feel like a celebrity is going to have an undue influence on the young when we have a greater influence. If you are following Jesus alongside a 15 year old girl and are introducing her to the agape love of the Father, you can relax a bit knowing she doesn’t get that kind of love from JLo or Shakira.
]If you are currently in a discipling relationship with a young person, talk to them about the halftime show. Did they watch it? Why / why not? What did they think about it? etc.
Turn the channel, turn it off or watch something else. In this digital age we don’t have to watch what the network tells us to watch. We can cast worship videos to our television during halftime. We can have a devotional with those in our home. We have a ton of options today.
Be aware of how our language communicates a lack of value or creates division. There are young people who idolize the performers last night. When we rage against them, we rage against the young people too. This does not motivate them to seek Jesus.
Don’t expect lost folks to act like folks who follow Jesus. I don’t claim to know the status of the relationship those who performed last night have with Christ. If they don’t know Jesus then you should expect them to operate from a different moral foundation than Jesus. If they do know Jesus then trust those who are in a discipling relationship with them to have relevant conversations.
Put the rock down and love generously. I have lived too much of my life with a rock in my hand ready to stone the next sinner. I confess there are times I am tempted to pick it back up. However, when I see that I was the one whose life didn’t measure up to Jesus (I still have a long way to go) and he was my advocate, it becomes easier for me to love those who have not yet discovered the love that is found in relationship with Christ. They have not yet discovered a love that transforms us each day. I want people looking for love, hope, peace and life to see something of all of those things in me.
There are students in my church and neighborhood that don’t know Christ. I want them to know that I love them regardless of the style of clothes they wear, the music they listen to, the places they go, the way they dance or the things they do. I want them to know that I am FOR them. Will you join me?