American Idol is one of the few TV shows I watch fairly regularly. I enjoy those singing competitions. Like Randy Jackson, I look forward to being "blown away" by some amazing unknown talent. It's also fun to hear the contestants' personal stories and to see them develop and improve over time. And why shouldn't we be delighted to find out that our favorite has made it to the next round? Someone has to go, so the person who was clearly far from brilliant needs to suck it up and face the truth. You go tell them, Simon Cowell!
It's so easy to accept and go along with the whole mindset regarding "success" in our culture. In our striving to be exceptional and excellent, we marginalize all except those who make it to the top. If God was looking at us in the same way, we'd be in big trouble. Not that excellence is a bad thing - but if we'd be under constant pressure to perform in order to receive recognition and affirmation from Him, it would be a burden too heavy to bear.
I'm quite annoyed actually how much "idolizing" is still going on in our "Christian" subculture. Whether it's about famous leaders and speakers, popular worship bands, or the latest bestseller "you just have to read" in order to experience true break-through in your personal life or to finally see phenomenal growth in your church.
Idolizing can also happen in the context of our denominational tradition. I have no problem with people being grateful for the things they've learned from past leaders like Francis of Assisi, Martin Luther and John Calvin, John Wesley and Charles Spurgeon, to name just a few. The trouble begins when we feel we must be so loyal to them that we can't accept anything that would contradict or question their teaching, or if we use them to pit them against someone we disagree with.
Let's be more mature than those in Corinth who followed that same pattern (1 Corinthians 3:3-7)!
