Ok. My family just watched the Superbowl and the halftime show and I thought it was the best halftime since U2 performed. There. I said it.
But wait a minute, some of you may be thinking, “I thought she was a Christian.”
I am a Christian, but I also know that I am an imperfect soul who is not good because of anything I have done or will do, but because I am saved by the grace and the blood of Jesus Christ. I do not believe for a minute that I will go to hell because I watched Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers and actually admitted that I enjoyed the performance. The truth is… he is talented. Now why am I saying all this?
Chris Tomlin, a Christian recording artist is being vilified on his Facebook page for daring to say that he enjoyed and thought that Bruno Mars’ performance was good. Did he say he agreed with his lyrics? Absolutely not. In fact, he said absolutely nothing about that at all. He said “what a singer and performer” plain and simple. He was one musician admiring the talent of another. But boy, oh boy, did he hear it from “well meaning” Christians. There was even one lady who was ready to dump Chris and look for “another” Christian artist to listen to. Of course, that is her prerogative, but I fear she will be disappointed because truth be told, EVERYONE is imperfect. Everyone needs the grace of Jesus. Jesus didn’t just die for Christians. He died for everyone. Even dare I say it, Bruno Mars.
But the judgmental comments and condemnation kept coming.
It really did not sit well with me at all. The comments also made me question how these very same people who were chastizing Chris Tomlin, knew who Bruno Mars was and what the words of his songs were. At one point someone must have looked up one song because it was cut and pasted to prove their point. Here people are upset with him for saying Bruno Mars’ performance was good, but yet, they know the words? How is that possible? I mean, I listen mainly to Christian music but I know if I change the channel to a secular station, I will not know the words to the songs automatically. So, that means they must have LISTENED to the music before or they are psychic. How could they know what he was singing about? Or, maybe they did their research? But then again, why would they watch a secular entertainment show such as the Super Bowl with their crazy commercials if it is so bad, then attack a Christian artist who simply acknowledged a stellar performance? No judgment. I am just confused.
Yes, we are instructed to guard our hearts and minds, but we are also instructed over and over and over in God’s word to love. In fact, the command to love is written more than any other command in the Bible. If Christians are like this to each other, being so incredibly judgmental, why on earth would a non-Christian ever want to pursue a relationship with our Lord and Creator? All they will think is that they will be under even more judgment and condemnation from the people who are supposed to be in fellowship with them?
I truly believe that if Jesus were standing before Bruno Mars after his performance, he would have said to him, “You did an awesome job performing my child, now let’s talk about you and me.”
No judgment.
No condemnation.
Just love.
That’s Jesus.
Isn’t our goal to be more like Jesus than even our fellow Christians? That is what I strive for every day and what I try to teach my children. Now that I’ve said that, congrats to the Seahawks for a stellar game!
