Today's Scripture Reading (November 18, 2020): Luke 9
On September 13, 2009, at the MTV Video Music Awards, the award
for Best Female Video went to Taylor Swift
for her song "You Belong to Me." It was an evening that few who were watching
are going to forget easily. Swift took
the stage to accept the award, and, at that moment, Kanye West also stepped
into the spotlight, infamously grabbing the mic from Taylor to insert his
commentary on the "best video." His words shook the watching audience.
"Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for
you, and I' mma let you finish, but
Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time. One of the best videos of all
time!" Some of the award ceremony attendees booed Kanye, while others
seemed to try to cheer on Taylor, but by
the time Kanye had handed the mic back to Taylor, her time was up.
No one seemed overly impressed with West. President Obama had some
unkind words for the singer, as did Katy Perry tweeting, "Kanye, it's like
you stepped on a kitten." Al Roker would later suggest that Kanye West
needed to "re-evaluate his place in the universe." For that night,
the world seemed to sympathize with Taylor, and Kanye was stuck wearing the
proverbial "Black Hat." And at that moment, if anyone was to ask "who
do they say that I am," the answer was probably not positive for Kanye,
and Katy Perry's "kitten" remark summed up pretty well who people believed
Taylor Swift to be.
Who do people say that you are? Or maybe the better question might be,
who do you want people to say that you are? In a lot of ways, this is the real
question of our lives. In
the Taylor Swift/Kanye West debacle, the bottom line of the whole incident was
who people thought the story's principal characters were. Did
Beyoncé make an incredible video – yes. But at some point, someone chose
Taylor's video for the award. Both
had tried hard, and Kanye disagreed with the results. In Kanye's mind, someone had made a
mistake – and being who he is, he told the world what it was he thought. And
that shouldn't have been much of a surprise – it informs our opinion of
who he is and confirmed who we believed him to be.
At some point, we have to
make decisions in our lives that will influence how people see us. Yeah, I
have made many wrong choices – but they were my decisions – and I (and Kanye)
have to be responsible for the wrong decisions we make. But how people perceive us will also influence
what it is that we can do in their presence. If people think I am a fantastic
guitarist (I'm not), then I will probably be asked to play guitar. If it is a great speaker, then I might
be asked to speak. And if I
am seen as a fantastic sanitation worker
– well, you know, I will be the one taking out what you have thrown away.
It is interesting to me that it was this question that Jesus
asked. Who is it that you
say that I am? The answer affected what it was that the disciples would
allow Jesus to do in their midst. If they believed that he was a great teacher,
then they would let him teach. If they thought that Jesus was a great healer, then they would allow him to heal. If we believe
that he is the Christ, then we will let
him lead – no matter the circumstances.
It is also a question that we need to answer because our response
will define what we will allow Jesus to do in our midst. Who is it that you say
that he is? Or maybe, who do you need him to be. Let him be precisely that.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: John 6
See also Mark 8:29
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