Matthew's first day at church

This week we took Matthew to church for the first time. With his limited experiences in America, our big, busy church was a bit daunting. My wife took him over to see his 13 year old sister, who was leading worship that morning for our junior high school ministry. Neither of us really thought about what his perception of seeing her on stage would be. He walked into a dimly lit room to see her singing into a mic, on a stage, with a full band. The lights were glistening down on her from above. The music was rocking, guitars blaring, drumbeats palpable. My daughter was leading vocals that day. Matthew looked up at her with eyes wide. He looked at his mom, then to her, then to his mom again. His mouth dropped open in amazement.

His look said: “I had no idea that my sister was a rock star!”

From his Ethiopian background, the only other person he could relate her to in that moment was probably what he had seen from American television over the last 3 weeks. She was Hannah Montana.

I was thinking of how often our perspective is askew. How often we look upon someone, outside of a context, and think: “wow, they really have it all together.” But the reality is often much different. But how could we know? Our limited context leaves us with a false reality. We may idolize a celebrity because of what we outwardly perceive. But deep down that person would gladly trade their life for yours (think Charlie Sheen). Or we may do this with a neighbor or a friend or even a pastor.

So the next time you find yourself celebritizing (made up word alert!) someone, pause. It doesn’t help them, and it certainly doesn’t help you.