Today’s Scripture Reading (March 5,
2015): 2 Peter 1
All of the
viewers that tuned in for the series finale of “Two and a Half Men” were
treated to a bizarre final episode. The finale hovered around one premise, the
possible return of Charlie Harper (a role played by Charlie Sheen for the first
eight years of the series until his own strange behavior got him booted from
the show). But, I’m sure to the disappointment of many, Sheen never appears on
the episode. Chuck Lorre, the show’s producer, wants fans to know that Sheen
was offered a part, but he turned it down.
In Sheen’s
defense, the entire show seemed to be one long joke at the expense of Sheen and
his character, and some have openly wondered if the Sheen and Charlie Harper
aren’t the same in the first place. For eight years, it just seemed that
Charlie Sheen was simply playing himself on the sitcom. So maybe the idea that
Sheen turned down the part is not all that surprising. Lorre wanted Sheen to
walk up to the door of the house his character had once owned, and then turn to
the camera with a rant about drugs and his own invincibility before the piano
that was being flown back in to beach front property was ‘accidently’ dropped
on his head. What Sheen wanted was a heart-warming reunion between Charlie and
his brother, Alan Harper (played by Jon Cryer), setting up a possible spin off
show entitled the Harpers – or maybe more appropriately titled “Two and a Half
Men Part 2: Under New Management (NOT Chuck Lorre).” Lorre was not about to
give Sheen what he wanted, and Sheen was not about to give Lorre what he
wanted. And so in the final moment of the series a Charlie Sheen lookalike
walks up to the door but does not turn around – and a piano falls on his head.
The camera then pulls back to reveal the director Chuck Lorre sitting in his director’s
chair, and he does turn to the camera before a second piano falls on his head,
proving, in the words of Lorre, that no one gets out of the show alive. Whether
or not you respect the decisions, you have to respect that both men knew
exactly what it was that they wanted, and they stuck with those desires, even
though the outcome was not the one that the fans wanted to see – the return of
Charlie Sheen.
Peter in the
opening of his letter makes this strange comment - make every effort to confirm your calling and
election. The strangeness is in the two terms that are used here, calling
and election. The truth is that in modern society we do not talk much about
either of these things. Calling simply means that you have been employed and
equipped to do a certain task. We most often use the word calling in religious
circles, but it doesn’t have to be just used in that arena. But, whatever it is
that we are called to do, we need to recognize that calling. If God has called
me or equipped me with the necessary traits to be a salesman, than I need to do
my best in that arena of life. The reality is that we are called to a different
tasks, and equipped to do those tasks well. Our job is really to discover that
calling and make the most of it (and don’t worry about the areas in which you
are not equipped – we will always make the biggest difference in areas where we
are naturally strong. Discovering and sticking to your calling is simply
another way of saying “work toward your strengths.”
The second idea is the concept of election. To be honest, there has been
a lot of unnecessary noise over the idea of election, but it basically just
means recognizing that you are a child of God and that you matter. Peter’s
message to his readers is simply this – find your strengths and know that you
are a child of God, and then don’t let anyone push you off of that path. Do
this and you will succeed, although the road may take some unexpected turns,
you will be okay.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Peter
2
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