Magnet for Malice

Paul desired to be an example to the believers who were placed under his care, and he encouraged those to whom he wrote to follow that example; that's not arrogant, but confident. 1st Thessalonians 1 says:
6 And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit,
7 so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe.
8 For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything.

Paul wrote in verse 6 that the believers of Thessalonica were followers of "us" - that is, Paul's ministry team, and "of the Lord."  We should strive to be an example to others, so that people will trust us and emulate us in our behavior.  We can do that as we are followers "of the Lord."  When we are faithful to Christ, that is something that becomes known - some will scoff, but others may surrender to Him through our example. 

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Our devotion to Christ will result in our being godly examples and effective ambassadors for Him, for 2nd Corinthians 5 tells us we are His ambassadors. Philippians 3 states:
17 Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.
18 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame--who set their mind on earthly things.
20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ...

We. Met. In. Church.

Four little words that apparently have packed a punch on social media.

If someone is single, the church provides a great setting for a person to meet his or her eventual spouse. That's the story of my wife, Beth, and me - we met in a singles group at a Montgomery church.  

And, that's also the story of a rather famous couple - he has been lead actor in some of the most popular films of the last decade; she comes from a famous political and entertainment family.  And, when her husband posted some cute comments, including the part about having met in church, well they became subjected to criticism, apparently.

Her name is Katherine Schwarzenegger - the daughter of famous actor and former California governor Arnold; her mother is Maria Shriver, a former TV host and author and the daughter of Sargent Shriver, a former lawmaker and Vice-Presidential candidate, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver - yes, the sister of JFK.

In 2019, Katherine married Chris Pratt, of Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic World fame, and Faithwire reported:

“We met in church,” Pratt wrote. “She’s given me an amazing life, a gorgeous healthy daughter, she chews so loudly that sometimes I put in my earbuds to drown it out, but that’s love! She helps me with everything. In return, periodically, I open a jar of pickles.”

“That’s the trade,” the celebrity continued. “Her heart is pure and it belongs to me. … It’s her birthday in about [six] weeks. So if I don’t get her anything, I’ll tell her to look back on this post. Love you, honey.”

But, the website points out that not all appreciated the cute and humorous little post; Faithwire relates:

The Daily Dot, a left-leaning media outlet, used the buzz over the Instagram post to remind its readers Pratt, a Christian, attends “an allegedly homophobic megachurch.” Throughout the rest of the post, the word “seemingly” had to do quite a bit of heavy lifting.

Without any indication the post’s caption was to be seen as anything other than lighthearted and less-than-serious, the article’s author condemned Pratt for “seemingly promoting sexist ideas about marriage” and “painting a picture of a straight marriage with uneven gender roles, with himself as a careless layabout husband who relies on his perfect angel of a wife, giving very little in return.”

Some even stooped to accusing Pratt of denigrating his former wife, Anna Faris, with whom they have a son, Jack, who has experienced health issues. However, as the article points out that Pratt "has repeatedly declared that Jack "was saved 'by the power of prayer.'"

While he has also been a magnet for box-office dollars through his Marvel and Jurassic movies, Faithwire points out that Chris has become a magnet for criticism. The reason? As the article notes: "Over the years, Pratt has become increasingly comfortable talking about his Christian faith and he’s remained unwilling to play the political game," adding:

Pratt hasn’t used his platform to direct his fans to find answers in politicians but has instead urged them to look to Jesus, and that doesn’t work in Tinseltown, where political activism is an unwritten but unforgiving rule.

Some examples of lightning rods concerning Chris Pratt?

Media outlets leapt at the chance to run stories in 2019 framing Pratt’s church — Zoe Church in Los Angeles — as “anti-LGBTQ” and a home for “religious obsession.” Those comments came after Pratt mentioned “the Daniel Fast,” a 21-day diet based in Scripture, during an appearance on “The Late Show.” In response, Ellen Page (who now goes by Elliot) condemned Pratt for “belong[ing] to an organization that hates a certain group of people.”

So, even though audiences seem to love him, Chris Pratt certainly represents an anomaly in Hollywood.  And, that's not to say there are not Christians who work in the entertainment industry; there are.  But, there does seem to be a bias against them, especially in media outlets who specialize in covering the world of entertainment.  That creates, I believe, a certain level of scrutiny and criticism that ensues.  

But, the fact is, we are all under the microscope.  There are people who will watch us to see if our faith is authentic.  You may even have people around you that are waiting for you to slip up, to fail to uphold the Christian principles which you say you believe.  We are called to model the presence of Christ and to represent Jesus - in order to do that well, we have to rely on His Spirit.

Chris Pratt is not perfect; neither are we. All Christians are flawed individuals who have submitted themselves to a perfect God and should ideally walk more like Him each day.  We have to continue to be faithful to Scripture and not try to twist God's Word to conform with our own experience - His Word is the standard and in order to know what God expects, we have to be in the Word and be willing to allow Him to have His way.