Too Far

In 1st Timothy 2, we see a passage of Scripture dealing with prayer for our leaders, for our
authorities. Following the first two verses of that chapter, we can read this:
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time...

We have to keep our hearts focused on our responsibility to be messengers of the good news, representatives of Christ in this earth.  Through our words and actions, we are building a witness for Jesus - or we are repelling people from His presence.  We pray for our leaders in an act of obedience to Him; we engage in activity that is consistent with who we say that we are in Christ.  He is our great Mediator, our Advocate, the One who stands for us and invites everyone to come into a knowledge of Himself.

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We are all in need of a Savior - we were once bound by sin, but Christ came to set us free.  Titus 3
says:
3 For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.
4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

She needs Jesus...

But, in 2007, in accepting an Emmy Award, she basically declared she didn't need or want him. CNSNews.com reported that this celebrity said, "A lot of people come up here and they thank Jesus for this award." She also stated, "I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus," adding. "He didn't help me a bit. If it was up to him, Cesar Millan would be up here with that ____ dog." She shared an inappropriate expression that included His name and then said, "This award is my God now!"

Lauren Green took this entertainer to task in an article on the Fox News website after the Emmys; she wrote:

Ninety-four percent of America's founding era documents mention the Bible; 34 percent quote the Bible directly. The idea of bringing unity to the universal is a particularly Biblical concept.

The freedoms we enjoy in this country to speak freely and to live freely are directly related to that man who died on a cross 2,000 years ago.

So, she said to the celebrity, "So, you see...Jesus has everything to do with you winning that award. You live in a free country where your abilities can be recognized if you're willing to work hard enough. That's at least the dream of America. If you'd been born in many other parts of the world, your daily activity might involve seeking out a way to survive, or even trying to avoid persecution and death."

It should really come as no surprise that the celebrity in question, ten years later, has seen enormous backlash due to a picture she posted, a picture that was actually intentionally taken by a photographer, depicting herself holding a severed head of the President of the United States.  A depiction so gross and inappropriate that Franklin Graham is quoted as saying on Facebook, according to CBNNews.com, "I work with Christians whose family members have been decapitated. This woman is sick and disgusting. May God bless our President, Donald J. Trump, and his family and protect them from all evil."

It also garnered reaction from President Trump himself, the first lady, and his son, Donald Trump, Jr. It resulted in the cancellation of an endorsement deal and the co-host role of the CNN New Year's Eve special with Anderson Cooper, who also condemned the display, according to the CBN News story.

The article reports that Kathy Griffin issued an apology:

"I sincerely apologize. I am just now seeing the reaction to these images," she said. "I am a comic; I crossed the line. I move the line and then I cross it. I went way too far. The image is too disturbing. I understand how it offends people. It was not funny. I get it."

She added, "I beg for your forgiveness. I went too far," and said, "I made a mistake and I was wrong."

But, do you?  Will those she has offended?  Does she really need Jesus?

According to FaithFamilyAmerica.com, Candace Cameron Bure posted on Facebook a reference to an article by Billy Hallowell at Faithwire, saying that he "got it right." Here is a section of that piece:

As Christians (though this should extend to all of humanity), we’re commanded to love others, even those who do or say stupid things. Gosh, even our enemies. The power, intensity and draw of social media can often lead us to forget these essential facts of the faith, but as I was tweeting my own frustrations over Griffin’s antics, I was suddenly overpowered by a realization: I was spending quite a bit of effort expressing my anger, but virtually none praying for her.

Asking God to guide her. Hoping that, amid her self-inflicted pain, she’d see truth. Praying that the pretty terrible cultural moment would be a clarion call for us all to think deeper and ponder more before we act, post or speak.

Again, what Griffin did was wrong, but calling her names, slamming her endlessly and turning her into mere object to attack does little to help the situation, nor does it help to ease the profound lostness and lack of judgement that led her and her team to participate in that horrific photo shoot in the first place.

So, perhaps its time to pause before you post.  Griffin rightly should be criticized; but - the simple, clear fact here is that she, like all of us, needs Jesus.  Celebrities who blatantly reject Christ certainly demonstrate their need of prayer and ultimately, of redemption.

And, our culture needs to see Christians take a different tone on social media.  Yes, it is OK to express displeasure online, but we have to do it in a spirit that reflects the character of our Lord.

We can also be motivated again to pray for our leaders.  Just yesterday, the President announced two major decisions that could have a dramatic effect on world events: the withdrawal from the Paris climate deal and the delay of the moving of the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.  One fulfilled a campaign promise, the other put a promise on hold.  There are Christians who are understandably not pleased with the Jerusalem decision.  He will say and do other things that will not make people of faith happy.  But, none of it will negate Mr. Trump's need for prayer.