It Depends

Even after we have made the decision to allow Jesus to inhabit the throne of our lives, each day we can make the decision whether or not to live that out - to follow Him or to follow self.  In 1st Corinthians 15, Paul seizes on this theme of dying to self:
31 I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
32 If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me? If the dead do not rise, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!"
33 Do not be deceived: "Evil company corrupts good habits."
34 Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.

We can choose to live in submission to the Spirit, or in pride, submitting to our human desires. Pride steals our joy, damages our relationships, and separates us from the abundant life God wants us to have.  We have to stay away from believing that our ways are best and acknowledge that we should follow His ways.  It can be a daily struggle, but we can rejoice in the Lord and know that He is with us to give us the resources in order that we might walk in victory!

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The Bible speaks to the importance of a humble walk, exercising and expressing our dependence on God - we recognize that His principles can effectively govern every single area of our lives.  In 1st Peter 5, we read:
(5b) Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

There are famous people who end up relating spiritual truth, and I generally spotlight them on Fridays - we can consider and critique the words that are said and the actions that are taken.  There are a couple of stops on our journey - first, we go to a recent edition of the Jimmy Kimmel talk show, where noted rapper Kanye West appeared.  That already is a prescription for some interesting conversation.  According to Faithwire:

However, Kanye decided to stay out of a party-political debate and instead focused on what can be done to heal the division in our society. He had some particularly interesting thoughts on the whole concept of “pride.”

Pride, he said, was too often acknowledged as being a positive term, when it is, in fact, a seriously damaging thing.

“We’re always pushing out so much hate,” Kanye said after being asked about his support for the current President. “And love can cure so much. Just think ‘am I moving in love? Not out of pride.'”

Kanye added: “Pride is a word that people often say in a positive connotation but it’s actually one of the seven deadly sins. Replace pride with love. ”

He talked about his wife, Kim Kardashian, and her personal appeal to the President to release Alice Johnson from prison, which did occur. The article states, "Kanye noted that only love can 'diffuse this nuclear bomb of hate we are in as a society,' adding that animosity between people can be cured by 'thinking of everyone as our family.'”

Well, there does seem to be a bit of disharmony among Kanye's wife and sisters-in-law, and one of them, the oldest, Kourtney, has seemingly fallen out of favor with her siblings - whether that's reality, reality television, or alternative reality, who knows, but she seems to have been turning to Scripture for inspiration.  

According to Refinery29.com:

The gist of the fight is this: Kim thinks Kourtney doesn't work as hard as her sisters. Kourtney feels this is an unfair assessment. Sunday night's episode focused on Kourtney's new therapist, whom the sister has been quoting at her family and friends as a response to their ongoing feud. And, on Instagram this morning, Kourtney shared a photo of herself meditating alongside a photo of what looks like a book with daily Bible verses.

Oh, can anybody tell me what the Kardashians actually do?  I guess you might say they are perpetuating their media and fashion empire.   But I digress...

The Instagram photo appears to be a page from the same devotional book from which she posted a picture in 2016, that was identified by the same website as Jesus Calling by Sarah Young.  The verses in the August 12 devotional were:

"A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice." — Isaiah 42:3
"'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,' says the Lord, who has compassion on you." — Isaiah 54:10
"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express," — Romans 8:26 

The article notes that, "Kourtney is using a time-tested technique for dealing with family: spirituality."

Well, the comments by my chosen celebrities for today are centered around our dependence upon God.  Whether it's Kayne's commentary on pride or Kourtney's consultation with the Scriptures in the midst of what appears to be a family squabble, we can recognize that submission to the principles of God can give solid direction for how we should live.  And, a love for following God's Word can give us an improved outlook.

We have the daily choice to follow our new nature, to put on the new person, according to Ephesians 4, and embrace our new identity in Christ.  Or, we can believe what the world and the enemy of our souls has to say to us.  We can either give in to the old thought patterns and unfruitful ways in pride, thinking that our way is best...or we can proceed with renewing our minds in humility, recognizing that His way is best.  We can either be independent in pride or dependent with a humble spirit.

As that story on Kourtney Kardashian, reminds us, "a time-tested technique for dealing with family" is "spirituality" - for the Christian, we can seek spiritual solutions through the Scriptures, which can direct and empower us in a host of different challenges we face.