We sell the beauty and destroy the girl...

Bebo Normanhas a great song out there called Britney. It is an apology song written to Britney Spears. Here are part of the lyrics for the song:

Britney, I'm sorry for the lies we told

We took you into our arms, then left you cold

Britney, I'm sorry for this cruel, cruel world

We sell the beauty but destroy the girl

These are powerful words, not just as they relate to Britney Spears but to other celebrities as well. One of the teen pop stars I respect the most right now is Miley Cyrus. Not only is she really talented and her music inspirational (hey, she takes after her dad!); but she speaks out about her faith in Christ. And yet, for little simple teenage mistakes she gets torn apart in the media circus. But guess what? The tabloids and entertainment media are vultures, in the business of destroying celebrity lives to make a quick buck (a fact that was clearly referenced in Hannah Montana: The Movie).

But that is not news, a surprise, nor blog-worthy. My concern is proclaimed followers of Christ, who are, intentionally or not, tearing apart celebrities and others. This became a major concern of mine when I read about the response of the American Family Associate to a Tweet that Miley Cyrus posted to the famous gay blogger who thrives as a vulture on celebrity trash talk and homosexual agenda promotion. Miley Cyrus, a 15 year old, demonstrated exceptional maturity and understanding of God's love by stating "I am a Christian and I love you - gay or not - because you are no different than anyone else! We are all God's children."

What she said is 100% true. We are all God's children and we all have our issues and sin in our life. We all need His love and we need to reach out and show love to each other. The Bible says this: "The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" Let the one who hears this say, "Come!" Let whoever is thirsty come; whoever wishes may have the water of life as a free gift." - Revelation 22:17 (NCV).

Whoever is hungry, come. Whoever wishes may have the water of life as a free gift. No exclusion of sinners no matter what the sin because, after all, "Everyone has sinned and fallen short of God's glorious standard" - Romans 3:23. Miley Cyrus gets that and shows exceptional maturity in her faith and understanding of God's love when communicating with the very hardest type of person to reach.

The "American Family Association" however chooses to take the tactic of the Pharisees and attempt to tear Miley Cyrus apart by stating " "Clearly she is confused and does not understand the Bible. Please pray for the Lord to open her eyes to the truth."

Yes, Miley made more than just that one comment. In talking to a proud, professional, homosexual celebrity gossip blogger she focused on the love of God and His desire for happiness. She said things in a way trying to find common ground without saying things that she knew would just shut him down. The "American Family Association" should be proud of her and holding her up as an example of what Jesus would have done. Instead, they provide an example of what the Pharisees would have done and tear her apart for expressing the love of Christ.

What has the Church became? Let us return to seeking the word of Christ for our guidance, and putting the stones of the Pharisees aside and trading it for the love of our Saviour, Jesus. One huge step in doing that will be in getting behind those in a position of incredible influence over the kids of our world (like Miley) who proclaim their faith in Jesus!

God bless y'all and prayers for our crazy world,

Mark