Dear God, forgive me. I too, have joined the media frenzy. This week it seems that many of us placed our real lives on pause to follow, click, like, comment, laugh, and speculate on the now infamous Beyonce, Solange, Jay-Z elevator encounter. Instagram posts were uploaded, statuses on Facebook were formulated, and articles online were written all based on a silent leaked 3 minute video that many of us interpreted varyingly.
Overnight we became a fraction of the conspiracy theorists and online comedians. By all means, I was a part of that crowd. And I don’t necessarily believe that there is something innately wrong with having an opinion on a situation that media has bombarded us with. But aside from what really transpired in that elevator, or the truth behind why it transpired, or the discussions that we engaged in, we (particularly as Christians) must evaluate ourselves and ask a deeper question: why did it move us this much?
Beyonce and Jay- Z are brilliant for a multitude of reasons. And I certainly believe that many recognize their brilliance. The ‘power couple’ has put in the work to create a robust brand for themselves that Beyonce would deem and many have assumed to be ‘flawless.’ And without a doubt, we have internalized that notion.
But what happens when we put two human beings on that high of a pedestal? Furthermore, what happens when two human beings that are on that pedestal seem to fall or even trip—we are the ones that lose it! We probably are more unsettled than they are! Why? Because in a world that is constantly losing faith: losing faith on marriage, love, true family, birthing children, real success, joy, fulfillment, contentment etc… We look to these celebrities that swarm our timelines for reassurance that these things too can happen for us. And when their dynasty seems to fall or merely crack, no matter if we admit it or not, we care and believe that we are affected. And to some degree, we are.
As Children of God, we have to be especially mindful of the messages and images that we consume ourselves with. I don’t believe that we have to completely distance ourselves from the media, but we cannot let it fill us more than God does. We have to constantly remind ourselves to make even tiny adjustments to our daily routine to stray away from becoming frenzied. We must condition ourselves to power down the phone and log off at some point so we are available to tap into God and ready our spirits to receive his ultimate messages for us.
There is no way that we can maximize our time with God if every quiet or free moment that we have in our day, we are following someone else’s life and faithlessly wondering if that life is even possible for us. What leads us is what feeds us.
As people called by God, we have the burden to pray more than we speculate. Though we may never know the authentic truth behind that infamous video of Jay-Z, Beyonce, & Solange—we should certainly still be lifting them up in prayer. Moreover, this should serve as a stark reminder that God’s ‘Rock’ is the only solid ground we stand on. There is no other Kingdom that is as Flawless.
- How to Cope with Quarantining Alone - May 18, 2020
- Staying Calm in Turbulent Times - March 21, 2019
- When the Flesh is Weak - January 29, 2019
