something that’s been on my heart…

I don’t watch The Hills.  Up until recently, I could not have told you who Heidi Montag was if you asked me.  But I’d have to be living in a hole in the ground for the past few months not to know about her and her plastic surgeries by now.  It seems as though every blogger, every writer, every social commentator, every college student, every pundit, every watcher of TV –in essence, everybody— has something to say about this young woman and her succession of surgical procedures.  And most of the voices that are speaking are decidedly judgmental and harsh.

But there is a larger story here, beyond the gossip and sensationalism and scandal, beyond the curt accusations and passed judgment and pounded gavels.  The real issues run much deeper, reaching to the heart of a broken young woman and her family, and a cruel culture that is in need of an honest wake-up call.

A healthy, beautiful person does not risk her life under a surgeon’s scalpel for no reason.  She does not ask to have her jaw bone scraped on a whim, without trying to satisfy a deeper need –to fill a much more painful emptiness then just some minor dissatisfaction with her reflection in the mirror.  Our culture is obsessed with physical youth and beauty and idealism.  Many have drawn similarities between Miss Montag’s post-surgery appearance and the Barbie dolls we all played with as children.  From a young age, we as girls are told that there is a standard that we must meet in order to be valued and admired and loved.  The standard is high –almost unattainable.  But it’s a standard every girl feels pressured to conform to.  In each of our lives, I think we fight this battle.  We conform, we compare, we obsess.  We criticize our appearances ruthlessly, and the appearances of others.  A number on a scale can drastically change the way we feel about ourselves.  We allow a marking on a tag to determine our self-worth.  Rather then finding our identity in Christ, we seek to find our identity in our physical appearance.

So, considering that, who are we to stand in judgment of Heidi Montag?  And who are we to throw stones?  Are we not equally guilty?  And more so, because we have hope in Jesus, and know that He cares about our hearts.  We are without excuse.  And you Christian guys…why do you prioritize the physical?  Proverbs 31:30 is still in your Bible (“Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord shall be praised”).  Yea, yea.  You should be attracted to the woman you marry.  What gets me is that you are primarily attracted to what your eyes see.  As a man of God, shouldn’t you value what He values?  1 Samuel 16:7 spells out what that looks like.

I recently came across an article by Kimberley of the fashion inspiration blog Wildfox Couture, and it struck me that more Christians should be taking an approach like hers, rather than our all-too-common judgmental stance.  Here’s a quote from her piece, “That’s What Girls Are Made Of.”

“it makes me sad that heidis family appear on the show to discuss heidis surgery, further condoning the need for limelight on their daughters sad, and massive insecurities (that she herself even admits to, saying, ‘i just wanted to be happier and couldn’t fix who i was being upset with how i looked on the outside.’

these issues should be private, her mother should have the chance to tell her how much it hurts, to no longer be able to see herself or heidis father in her childs face, and they should all be able to cry without all of the world watching. not to mention the entire thing is cut up to death, leaving us to wonder what was actually said and what is totally out of place.”

(You can read the rest of the piece here.  Please note that I haven’t fully previewed this blog, so the content may or may not be offensive to some.)

Heidi Montag’s lifestyle may be novel to Americans, but her insecurities and private fears are nothing to be gawked at on a TV screen.  It reminds me of the arena games of the ancient Romans.  We may not be watching human gladiators fight each other to the death, but the human suffering and pain and confusion and hurt that we call “entertainment” on our TV’s is very real.  What breaks my heart is that we are becoming desensitized to this deep pain, this pain Christ longs to take from us, this pain He shed His blood to take away.  Men and women like Heidi Montag, Paris Hilton, Gary Coleman, Lindsay Lohan, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus lose their humanity in our eyes and become little more than spectacles for our personal derision and entertainment.  Shame on you, Christian.  Shame on me.  Where is the love and compassion that Christ called us to?  Why does it apply to everyone but celebrities and politicians?  Should we not show these men and women the honor and understanding we desire to show our families and friends and communities?  Are they not also our neighbors?  Are we not also called to love and serve them?  Do they not also have souls?  Do they not also need Jesus?

One of the best perspectives I ever read regarding a godly approach to modern entertainment was Boundless author Matt Kaufman’s piece “This Article is Not About Paris Hilton.”  It was written several years ago when the hotel heiress’s antics were plastered all over every grocery store aisle in the country.  I read it in 2008, but I’ve never forgotten it.  This piece opened my eyes and convicted me of my own failings and sin.  It continues to affect the way I think about media, journalism, and news in general.  Here’s a quote from the piece:

“One of the devil’s favorite tricks is to make us dwell too much on someone else’s vices. We can be most vulnerable to him when we feel most virtuous, and that’s easiest to do when we disapprove of real character flaws but spot them mainly in others, not ourselves. Celebrities who act outrageous fit well into his strategy. We can go on and on about them without ever feeling like grim, censorious judges: Deriding and mocking them just makes us feel like hip cultural observers.”

It was true for Paris, and now it’s true for Heidi.  It’s easier to judge Miss Hilton for her materialism and extravagance then to address our own foolish preoccupation with possessions.  It’s easier to focus on Miss Montag’s “addiction to surgeries” and her drastic appearance alterations, then to search our own hearts, getting at the root of those “addictions” and idols that distract us from Christ and take His place on the throne of our lives.

We have been saved, we have been redeemed.  We were bought with a price, we are no longer our own, but we belong to God.  We’re just sinners saved by grace, through no merit on our part.  We did nothing to earn God’s favor.  If anything, we are the world’s weakest and poorest, and Christ saved us just to show Himself that much more glorious (1 Corinthians 1L26-29).  So why do we stand here now, our Pharisaical prayers reaching Heaven: “Lord, I thank you that I am not like THEM?”  Oh, how blind we are.  How tragically we underestimate the grace of God.  How we cheapen the Cross of Christ.  Instead, we should be on our knees before the Father, knowing that but for the grace of God go I. He knows my struggles.  He knows that but for His grace and His restraining hand, I could be in the same spot as any of these unhappy lost souls.  I am fully capable of the most wretched sins.  It is only God’s grace that has protected me from myself.

We can’t turn off the cameras, but we can turn off our TV’s.  Our place is to love Miss Montag and other confused souls like hers, in light of what God has done for our own lost hearts, and to beg Him to open their eyes and heal their hearts.  Pain and addiction and sin should never be entertainment: Christ died to set us free from these.

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1