Reality TV is an oxymoron. No one lives with film cameras documenting every moment of one’s life. It is at best staged “reality.”
These shows get good ratings. They make TV stations a lot of money. And production costs are minimum. No wonder these shows are so successful.
In the process, reality TV creates celebrities who milk their fifteen minutes of fame for everything they can. They talk and act with great self-importance. But they are only famous for being famous. The more rude, loud, silly, degrading, and violent the personality, the more attention he or she gets.
With rare exceptions, reality TV is utter foolishness. But this should not surprise us. Let the world be the world. And let the church be the church.
Unfortunately, the church is following the false value system of the God-ignoring, God-despising culture we live in. So we could have safely held our breath before the Christian reality TV knock-offs showed up.
The world has the music competitions. Now we have ours too (NOTE: “Gospel Music competition” is another oxymoron.) They have their family-centered shows. We have ours. They have… You get the picture.
One of the new franchises is the Preachers of L.A. and its spinoff, The Preachers of Detroit. My objections to these shows are myriad. But more than the shows themselves, the apologetic the pastors give for their participation concerns me
The justification for these shows is that people need to know that pastors, Christian leaders, and Gospel artists are human just like them.
No, they don’t!
That is the problem. The world already knows we are human. Too human. This is why the world does not take the church seriously. For that matter, neither do many people in the church. Before you disagree, read the Tweets and Facebook comments when these shows are on. It might as well be an episode of Scandal!
People do not need to know we are human. They need to know we are godly.
Seeing materialistic, argumentative, prideful, self-promoting, and troubled preachers air their dirty laundry on TV does not advance the gospel in any way. It only hands the world dirt to sling mud at the Bride of Christ.
Sort out your issues in your prayer closet, with those to whom you are accountable, and in the midst of the local church. Then do a show that demonstrates the difference Jesus makes. That’s what the world needs to see. We are the light of the world and the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13-16). To bring glory to God the Father, there must be something different about us. (Unsalty salt is yet another oxymoron.)
The Apostle Paul advised Timothy…
Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. – 2 Timothy 2:20-21
A wealthy man has two kinds of vessels in his house: precious (“gold and silver”) and common (“wood and clay”). But it does not matter what you are made of. You can be gold or clay. What matters to the master of the house is that the vessel is clean.
This is the kind of minister that is useful to the master and ready for every good work. Who cares if you are gold or silver or wood or clay? The question is, are you clean?
People do not need to know we are human like them. They need to know we are Christians. We are godly. We are different. We are servants of Christ. We are men of God.
Paul further counsels…
So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. – 2 Timothy 2:22-26