"31 Days" ChallengecontentContent in ChristcontentmentjudgmentMileyMiley Cyrusprayingshock valueyoutube
31 DAYS: CONTENT IN CHRIST (Post 9 - Miley Cyrus and Contentment)
Good Monday to you!
I have been pondering the Miley Cyrus MTV VMA debacle for a while now. And I've been wondering how to tackle it. I have a lot of thoughts, and I am debating writing a post that more fully details my swirling contemplations. But suffice it to say...I've been doing a lot of praying for Miley lately.
Why, then, am I writing about Miley Cyrus on a "31 Days" Challenge about being content in Christ? Well...because I fear that Miley is not content in Him. Not in the least.
I don't know Miley Cyrus, and I don't claim to. I don't know her heart; I don't know her motives. All I can do is speculate. I imagine the VMA scandalousness was just another step taken along the long staircase of recording artists' jaw-dropping stunts for fame's sake (think Madonna and Britney's kiss or Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction"). I mean, let's be honest - shock value is what has ALWAYS garnered media attention.
What I do know has been gathered from perusing YouTube videos of Miley's recent performances. I've been sampling her latest work...from her acoustic set on SNL to her Brady Bunch-esque recording for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. And having worked with young women for over 15 years now, I feel like I can deduce when there is a sadness in someone. A discontent of sorts. This is what I see in Miley's eyes.
She may be having "fun" out there in the wild world of fabulous fame, but I see a fallen countenance. Behind the nervous laughter, beyond the youthful angst...I see a lost Miley.
I'm not going to say that I know where Miley stands with Jesus. I have read reports all over the internet stating that she used to claim Christ. But I don't know her heart. If she has committed herself to the Lord at some point in the past, I pray that she would again surrender to the call to die daily to self (Luke 9:23; 1 Corinthians 15:31). If she has not yet come to faith in Jesus, I pray that someone might clearly and affectively preach the Gospel to her and that she might "receive the Word implanted, which is able to save [her soul]" (James 1:21).
In praying for Miley these past few weeks, my heart has been changed. Rather than jumping out here in the blogosphere to attack her actions with piercing words filled with judgment, I have decided to wait. To be silent. In this, my heart has been flooded with the love and mercy that Christ has shown to me. God's Word has challenged me to be completely content in Him and to pray for those who have not yet found this wondrous contentment.
So I'm still praying for Miley. And I'm still praying about how to fully address what she is doing out there in the public eye. Not because I want to, but because I have to. I work with young men and women daily who ask my opinion on such matters. I want to be able to speak a word of godly wisdom into their lives in regards to their listening/viewing choices.
But for now...Lord, may Miley be found content in You. And may I be found there as well.
0 comments