Sanjaya, Sanjaya, Sanjaya

So, are you an American Idol fan?

And then the next question always seems to be
something about the youngest contestant, Sanjaya Malakar.

Don't you think he's destroying the season?
Isn't it a travesty he's still there?
How will the world survive if he actually wins AI?

Personally, I think he's a talented (though outgunned,) entertaining young man whom the producers have groomed for a strong audience from day one. Of the other finalists, how many of them have had the amount of airtime from the beginning of the season? Especially positive. I mean, I'll admit it as a mom, I fell for him the moment he chose to spare his sister's feelings by withholding the judges' admiration for his voice over hers. I want seventeen-year-old children who care so much for their siblings someday. Do I think he's the strongest performer on the stage? Absolutely not.

I'm talking about Sanjaya today because I'm a pop culture junkie. I love this kind of stuff. But, I am a bit miffed at many of my fellow believer AI fans and their treatment of the Kid-of-Many-Hairdos. Many of the same people who spout off on message boards and blogs about how we should vote for Phil because he's a PK, Melinda because she toured with CeCe Winans, or Jordin because of her ties to Michael W. Smith are the ones who are questioning Sanjaya's ties to the Total Experience Gospel Choir, a prestigious Seattle-area choir. I'm reading terribly critical, often mean, personal shots about his abilities, his faith, and him as a person.

And these are adults talking about a minor.

True, being in a choir does not mean you're walking with Christ, but neither does being a backup singer for CeCe Winans. I don't know where the seventeen-year-old stands with the Lord. Nor do I know where Melinda, Phil, or Jordin stands either. That's not my place.

I'm not saying the Christian community needs to become "Fanjayas," but I will say that Sanjaya is the image of God just like any of the rest of us. He should be treated as such.