Daily Devotional for Sunday May 27, 2007

American Idol

(Psalms 2:11; Ephesians 6:7; Hebrews 12:28)

The lessons of American Idol. The 6th season of the highest-rated program > on TV today (over 40 million viewers), concluded last Wednesday night with > 17-year-old Jordin Sparks being voted as the latest American Idol. To > Fox > TV's credit, Idol is actually one of the more watchable programs on > television for families. It is a refreshing throwback to some of the old > talent programs that have always been popular since the inception of > television. The real "hook" of Idol is that it is the viewers who vote to > ultimately choose who the winner is. There are actually several > interesting > spiritual lessons from American Idol that I want to share with you today. > > The first spiritual lesson is how people will chase after the temporary > things of this world with all they have, yet put very little time, effort, > or sacrifice in pursuing the eternal things of God. At the beginning of > each season of American Idol, auditions are held in 6 or 7 major cities. > People come from all over and will line up for days, camping out, braving > the weather, just to be able to audition for an opportunity to get a > "golden > ticket" to go to California and the next round of the competition. It is > amazing to hear the stories of those who sacrificed to come to the > audition, > taking buses for days, using their last dollar to get there, leaving their > families and jobs behind to try and become the next American Idol. > > Of course, the ultimate goal of each person who auditions is to become an > overnight superstar in the music industry, enjoying all of the fame and > fortune that goes along with success in that business. It is interesting > to > watch thousands and thousands of people give all they have for a shot at > becoming a famous singer. Idol is a great example of how people will > sacrifice everything for the temporary things this world has to offer. My > friend, whatever fame you may acquire, whatever fortune you may amass, all > becomes meaningless the second you die. When you stand before God He is > not > gong to be impressed you became an American Idol, or that you sold 50 > million records, or that you won 5 Grammys, or that you lived in a 5 > million > dollar home, or that you were worth millions of dollars. No, the only > thing > that God is going to be interested in and impressed by is your > relationship > with His Son Jesus Christ! > > A sad lesson from American Idol is the incredible lengths most people will > go to, to chase the temporary things of this world, while very few people > will make those same sacrifices to pursue the eternal things of God. > > Another great lesson from American Idol is how so many people live their > lives through the lives of others. Watching the program to see how your > favorite does, watching for the entertainment value is fine. What I am > talking about are people who live vicariously though those on the program > whether it is the host Ryan Seacrest, the judges, or the contestants. It > is > amazing to me how may people live their lives through the lives of others > whether it be Hollywood actors, people in the music business, sports > stars, > TV personalities, politicians, people they know, and even people in the > ministry. > > God gave each of us this wonderful gift of life. We are each unique and > special. You need to live your life instead of wasting it by living > through > someone else's. When you do that, you are cheating yourself out of this > precious gift God has given you. A great lesson from American Idol is to > not get caught up living your life through someone else's, LIVE YOUR OWN > LIFE! > > The other great lesson from American Idol is that man has the creativity > and > ability to create vehicles to reach the masses with a message. I am fully > aware that the motivation behind American Idol is money, large amounts of > money. That is the motivation and driving force for creating this program > that is reaching the masses. I contend that if we can use our creativity > and ingenuity to create a vehicle to reach the masses for money, how much > more should we be using that same creativity and ingenuity to reach the > masses for Christ! Not only is it something we have been commanded to do > by > our Lord, it should be the desire of every Believer to reach this lost > world > we live in with the Truth of God's Word and the hope we have in Jesus > Christ! > > Another great lesson from American Idol is that man knows no bounds when > it > comes to creating something from nothing that can reach the masses so he > can > make a profit. I submit to you today, those who know the Lord should be > challenged that if men of the world can create vehicles to reach the > masses > simply to make money, how much more motivated should men of God be to > reach > the masses to bring them the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!! > > I love you and care about you so much. Tens of millions of people have > watched and voted and gotten caught up in Idolmania these past few months. > It is over for another season as Jordin is the newest > American Idol. I pray today that for the people who sacrifice and give > everything they have for a shot at the temporary fame and fortune of this > life, they will sacrifice and give everything they have for the eternal > rewards of Heaven. I pray today that for those who live their lives > through > others, they will begin to live their own unique and special lives. I > pray > today that instead of using the incredible gifts and creativity and > ingenuity to reach the masses for a few dollars, men will use those same > gifts and creativity and ingenuity to reach the masses for Jesus. > > I'm encouraged by a program like American Idol. It proves people will > sacrifice for the things of this world, now we need to help them see how > much better it is to sacrifice for the things of God. It proves that > people > want to live better lives, now we need to help them see that they are > special and unique can have a better life if they will follow the Lord. > It > proves that men can create unique vehicles to reach the masses for money, > now we need to challenge men to create unique vehicles to reach the masses > for the Lord. May we learn these lessons from American Idol and make an > impact with our lives for Christ!