In Vain
Montage of the various speeches of the 2008 Academy Awards.
I watched the Oscars last night with 'the Tims'. One provided cocktail wieners: the other, beer. I provided nothing and apparently my company was useless as I had seen less than 10% of the contenders. I only guessed a few categories correctly, and guesses they were. Why do I love crappy movies?
But while my savvy friends were swallowing scrumptious fare I was noticing a fresh trend in the speeches this year. Nobody was thanking God.
I don't think this is bad news, either. The latest trend in the church over the past decade has been a call for a more authentic relationship with the Lord. I'm not proposing that the Oscar winners who didn't thank God publicly feel that God had nothing do do with their big win. I can relate in this way. When I get an A on an exam I say "I got an A on my exam and I'd like to thank myself for studying so hard and Amanda for lifting my spirits when I was feeling down." I know that God is in the mix, in his mysterious ways. I do not sense his direct contribution. Thus I feel it would be disingenuous to express my thanks to the Lord out loud for the world to hear.
It's not a stretch to conclude that when the Lord commanded us not to use his name in vain, it applied to overuse and half hearted attribution. So that's why I'm not concerned that God's name wasn't mud slung across the Oscars this year. You can be sure that the next time you hear me thank the Lord, it's coming from a direct connection with the creator. Think of how often you thank God publicly. Are you overusing his name?
11 comments:
I guess dude that is good to thank to God the things that happen, publicly or not (the people who believe in Him, obviously). In the other hand, I agree... God is anywhere "in the mix", so I think that it will be nice, that somebody offer to Him his own work like a kind of gratitude for all that He has done.
Anyway, all depend of each person, and both ways are ok, aren't?
I often wonder if God gets annoyed at being thanked for stuff that really wasn't that good. I can just see him in heaven saying: 'oh man, Milli Vanilli just thanked me publicly for their Grammy award. That record was terrible; I don't want to be associated with that. I guess my only choice is to reveal to the world that they were lip-syncing the whole thing."
And that is how Milli Vanilli became the punch line of so many jokes, for so many years.
Crappy can be relative. A lot of good movies people still enjoy watching, say Raiders of the Lost Ark didn't win any academy awards. The year Raiders was released Chariots of Fire and On Golden Pond swept the Academy Awards. How many people (now anyways) would watch Chariots or On Golden Pond?
Diego: It's true, it does depend on the person and their own sincerity. I have simply been unimpressed with chronic name callers.
Timz: You are hilarious! And it's so so true!
Mark: Thank you for enabling my crappy movie ways.
Yeah, what is with people not thanking God anymore! Plus, I have no idea who most of those people are
people are overusing God's name in a bad way these days.
oh my god? in the name of god...
i swear to god...
you them all these days. can't be good..
That is really interesting! I wish I could have watched them but I was busy. But I can learn all things through blog reading it seems.
Heh... I hate watching anything to celeb focused. People flock to them far too much, which makes it a little painful to watch the masses huddle in front of them. I would have liked to see the video though... But it's currently removed from the YouTube.
I have been thanking Him more lately; but that is because I have been working in the past year to strengthen my relationship. But saying something "just to say it" or "to be hip" is indeed useless.
I will watch anything that is graced with George Clooney's presence. For He surely had His hand in the making of that man. *Drool*
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