Friday, December 02, 2005

I have to admit...


... I watch MTV.

Oh, I use the excuse that I just do it as research-- check out the latest in clothes and trends and stuff for my writing.

Truthfully, I've never gotten over my own teen obsession with the video as an artform. I totally dislike a lot of the music MTV plays, but seeing a "When September Ends" or "Untitled"- kind of video with some true meat to it just brings me back over and over again.

Now, nobody go run to MTV and get me in trouble with the 'rents or anything, but if you do get the chance to check out Relient K's "Who I Am Hates Who I've Been," (click on the little tv beside the title and you can stream it through RealPlayer) sit and really watch it. Boy, God has really used that video with me today.

The video shows a girl taking a walk. Soon, she realizes that her steps are directly related to the actions of people around her. She's having a ball watching people retrace their steps as she walks backwards. A falling stack of books re-stacks themselves. All kinds of fun stuff. She's laughing and its all good until she realizes that someone crossing the street gets hit by a car. Quickly, she backs up, her actions moving him out of harm's way, but if she moves forward, he's just going to get hit again. So-- since this IS a video and time is of the essence-- she decides to step aside. To change the path she is on. Everything else around her no longer is so neat-- an apple tossed by a fruit seller hits someone in the back of the head, a television is dropped, and other things get messed up. All that chaos causes the distracted man to stop and, as a result, the car passes by without incident.

I haven't been able to get this video out of my head all day. I just think its awesome that my hometown boys are singing to Jesus on MTV like every hour or two, and I praise God for the ministry of Relient K out there in MTV-land. I think there's two great thoughts to be taken from it.

First, the path we chose at times in life might be a blast for us. We might be having a grand old time on it, but those choices may be leading others around us into peril. In Luke 17:1-2, Jesus says to His disciples, Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. Pretty harsh stuff, but I bet we can all think back to a time when we looked back and realized an action we took in fun caused someone else to sin. We probably didn't even think a second thought about it at the time, or we might not even known that it was something that would cause our brother to sin.

Second-- and this is the redemption part-- all we have to do is take that step over to the right path. The one that is Jesus. It might be a bit messy along the way. It might not seem like the way to go at times, but we just might save a friend along the way.

Peace,

~B.

2 comments:

Sarah Anne Sumpolec said...

Awesome- just awesome!

Thanks for sharing this. I'm afraid I watch a lot more Barney and Lizzie McGuire than I'd like and as a result, I would have missed this video if you hadn't pointed it out...

Thanks:-)

mbpbooks said...

This is great news! Made my day. Have you heard the song "Footprints" by TOK that's in the top-ten on the hip-hop/rap/reggae charts? It's about prayer.