Avengers Affirm

I think it's quite a tribute that a person displayed the character of Christ in such a way that it was pointed out in the pages of the Bible.  Such is the case of Timothy, about whom Paul wrote in the book 
of Philippians chapter 2:
19 But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state.
20 For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state.
21 For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.
22 But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel.

Proven character - what an incredible goal to which each of us can aspire!  That character is developed as we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, allow Him to take control of our lives and let His light shine through us. Ultimately, our aim is to glorify Christ, and that certainly means we can have the satisfaction of knowing that we are living in a manner that pleases Him and reflects His glory to the world around us.

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We can be ambitious to display the presence of Christ through us, so that when people look at us, they see our Savior. 1st Peter 3 states:
15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;
16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.

I would certainly be flattered if someone wrote this about me on social media: It starts out by saying: “What a world… The “sinless” are casting stones at my #brother...A real #Christian who lives by #principle, has never demonstrated anything but #positivity and #gratitude. … Delete your social media accounts, sit with your OWN defects of #character, work on THEM, then celebrate your humanness.”

That is from an Instagram post that was related by the Mercury News website.  It was written concerning an actor who has faced some criticism these days.  Even though I have several issues with his personal behavior, nevertheless, he has become known in Hollywood as a Christ-follower, and I have no reason to doubt that.  But, his Christianity, as well as his relative silence on political matters, have rubbed some people the wrong way.

The article notes that a Hollywood filmmaker named Amy Berg put up a Twitter post, consisting of pictures of 4 actors named "Chris" and stating, "One has to go."  Apparently, the responses turned out to be rather "hateful," as Berg says.  Those actors include 3 who play Marvel Avengers characters: Chris Hemsworth of Thor, Chris Evans of Captain America, and Chris Pratt of Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as Star Trek and Wonder Woman actor Chris Pine.

But, it is Pratt who has received the most criticism as of late, which is why his fellow actor, Robert Downey, Jr. wrote what he did on Instagram, which I just relayed.  Hulk star Mark Ruffalo chimed in: 

Ruffalo added more gently on Twitter: “You all, @prattprattpratt is as solid a man there is. I know him personally, and instead of casting aspersions, look at how he lives his life. He is just not overtly political as a rule.”

The article notes:

Ruffalo and Downey’s defense of Pratt happened to come the same day that Ruffalo and other Avenger co-stars — not including Pratt — participated in a virtual fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, People reported. The other actors participating in the event were Downey, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Zoë Saldana and another “Hollywood Chris,” Chris Evans.

The article, which seems to be written from a liberal, Hollywood slant, says this about the wave of recent criticism for Pratt:

People’s stated concerns about Pratt center on: 1) His well-known reluctance to talk about his possibly conservative politics, even though he has famously political in-laws (Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver) who, with his wife, Katherine, have expressed strong anti-Trump views; and 2) his association with Hillsong, a celebrity-friendly evangelical church whose leaders have espoused anti-LGBTQ views in the past.

Oh, there we go with the LGBTQ stuff again. That's unfortunately part of the territory these days for Christians attending Bible-believing churches. But, you can't argue with the Bible's stated principles regarding sexuality and the sinfulness of homosexuality - but we also recognize there is room for all who sin at the foot of the cross.  Now, Pratt has tried to distance himself a bit, as the article notes: 

While Pratt publicly defended the church for welcoming people “regardless of sexual orientation, race or gender,” the Daily Beast and other outlets reported that the pastor at Pratt’s local branch of Hillsong produced a film that equated homosexuality with “sexual brokenness” and that Hillsong has a lengthy history of gay conversion therapy and refusing leadership roles to LGBTQ people.

I have no problem with that. Actually, the article does get it wrong, though, in that the Pratts, if I'm not mistaken, attend Zoe Church, which is pastored by Chad Veach, and to my knowledge, is not related to Hillsong. But, I certainly can't fault Chris and Katherine from publicly attending an evangelical church.  Others, according to the article, do not share my position. 

But, back to the main thing here - Chris Pratt's character was affirmed publicly by at least two gentlemen who have worked with him in several movies.  Robert Downey actually affirmed his practice of Christianity.  So, what do the people with whom we interact say about us?  Downey describes his friend as a "real" Christian. I don't know what his criteria are regarding what a "real Christian" is, but I will say that in an age in which Christians are taken to task for being hypocrites, we have to make sure that our action lines up with our profession.  Being a "real" Christian certainly involves allowing Christ to live through us and to demonstrate His love, but...we also are called to not back down from His truth; that may involve making unpopular stands.  Even then, it is within the realm of possibility that we do that in the right way, in a manner that engenders respect, not ridicule.

Mark Ruffalo is one of the most politically liberal people in Hollywood - that is saying something, isn't yet?  But, even then, he respects Pratt's more nuanced approach to politics.  That's not to say we should not express opinions in the matters of selecting leaders and developing policy. We can be politically active, but we can do so without being degrading or off-putting...remember, our mission is to win people to Christ; we can be careful not to repel those whom we are trying to persuade.  Generally, that's not done in 280 characters!

All in all, we have to make sure that we are developing a reputation that represents the Lord in the way that He would intend.  We may not please all of the people all of the time - Jesus certainly didn't do that - but we can walk with the ambition of pleasing our Savior.   We can earn respect, which may cause someone to consider the claims of Christ and look to Him as their source of hope.