Flashy Brands and celebrity fame

Remember Adam Sandler’s long haired crazy mate in the movie “Bedtime Stories”? He was played by rising British comedian Russell Brand, aka Katy Perry’s other half. Mockingbird recently posted a BBC interview with him on youtube. He was hocking his autobiography of course but the interviewer raised some questions regarding the nature of fame and the answers Russell gave were fascinating.

(I enjoyed the whole interview but below are the parts that really resonated with me)

Jeremy Paxton: Why did you want to be famous?

Russell Brand: I grew up in industrial Essex...The idea of something glistening yet visceral were very appealing to me. Fame is seemingly accessible even when you live in areas when it's miles and miles away from you...

JP: Why is it so many people crave celebrity now?

RB: Because we're presented with the attractive spectacle of fame to distract us from the mundanity of our everyday lives, it's bread and circuses Jeremy.

JP: In that case it's utterly empty

RB: Of course 

JP: In itself it's not something worth striving for

RB: It has absolutely no value in itself, it's a spectacle or an illusion, a distraction. All of us are aware of that.

JP: What happens to you when it finally arrives?

RB: ...you have the initial thrill of achievement, oh my word, the same as if you'd acquired a pair of shoes that you'd long craved and then you realize that the shoes are too tight, they ain't that comfortable, I want another pair of shoes. Walking around in these things ain't the same as I thought it would be. And you realize that you need nutrition from a higher source something more valuable. Celebrity in and of itself is utterly, utterly vacuous. It's like being presented with the most glorious meal and then when you eat it there's no taste, there's no succor, there's no nutrition. It's tiresome.

JP: You don't regret seeking celebrity and the effect it's had on you?

RB: No, because what else would I be doing? Having spent a great proportion of my life not being famous, that didn't have any particular value either. I didn't particularly enjoy working as a scab labourer, as a postman. I didn't particularly enjoy working in pubs, or selling ink cartridges for Hewlett Packard. These weren't salvation either. It weren't to be found there. So, no I don't regret it but now that I'm here, I wonder if it's possible to use it to acquire something more valuable, more beautiful... we're making this documentary currently on the subject of fame and consumerism and the way that we're sold these narratives and the way they keep us dumb and the way that I, myself was seduced by it… growing up in Essex and thought 'oh yes, I want to be famous' and now I am famous and what does it mean? Ashes in my mouth.

Do these sentiments sound familiar to you? Have you ever read the thoughts of King Solomon; the most powerful, rich man of his time?

“…Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content...”

“… So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.”

Russell has a way to go before he hits Solomon’s standard of living yet even if he gets there he will still not be satisfied. How did Solomon conclude this “chasing after the wind” that is life?

“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”

Or as Paul would say “I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ"

Breast is best

Gisele Bundchen: Brazilian supermodel, brand ambassador, yoga master, wife to famous footballer and mother. Now infamous for stating in a Harper’s Bazaar interview that there should be a worldwide law making all mothers breastfeed for a minimum of six months. Usually I don’t care for celebrity opinion pieces but this fact caught my attention: Gisele breastfeed her own son for only three weeks.

In many ways Gisele is unlike us (see opening sentence) but I think this incident reveals that in fact she is just like us. What do I mean? Gisele set a standard (law) for herself and others to obey. But then she didn’t  follow the standard herself. Hypocrite! But before you throw your rocks, haven’t you had that happen to you plenty of times too? Diet plans gone awry anyone? 

So if we can’t even keep our own laws, how on earth are we going to able to keep God’s laws which are a much higher standard than the laws we set for ourselves? (see Luke 10:27)

Don’t despair! There is a way for lawbreakers like us to make it in God’s eyes even while we are not making it in our own eyes: through faith in the One who kept the law on our behalf. “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit” (Romans 8:1-4).

Usher's got us falling in love again?

Before you panic and think I’ve fallen off the Christian bandwagon I need you to know that I in no way endorse listening to Usher’s music. Whew! Cleared that up. Have you had one of those times when you blob out in front of TV and flick channels? Well I was feeling that way the other day and stumbled across Usher’s catchy tune “DJ got us falling in love again”.

Cause baby tonight, the DJ got us falling in love again

Yeah, baby tonight, the DJ got us falling in love again

So dance, dance, like it’s the last, last night of your life, life

Gonna get you right

The rest of the lyrics are basically about two people who meet in a club at the end of the week and do what people do in clubs on the weekend if you know what I mean… But is love the feeling we get when we are dancing with some attractive stranger? Or is love something more substantial?

Paul argues in 1 Corinthians 13 (the wedding passage) that love is something far deeper than mere attraction. “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”. In other words true love is expressed in one way unconditional giving to someone else. In contrast, Usher’s definition of love is one way taking from the other person. He enjoys the woman because of the pleasure her body gives him, not because he wants to please her. And the implication is that if her dancing does not please him, her life with him is over. His “love” is totally conditional.

As a married sinner I am reminded often that my love for my better half is badly flawed. But there is One who has perfectly kept the demands of 1 Corinthians 13 for me. His name is Jesus Christ. He loved you and me perfectly to the point that it cost Him His life on the cross. “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13)

For a pop song that does lay down one way unconditional love:  Choose You by Stan Walker

Persil

I’ve seen this laundry powder ad in the shopping mall a lot lately. It shows two tee-shirts. On the Persil side the tee is spotless. On the cheaper brand side the stain is still clearly visible.

There’s a lot that us sinful humans use to try and cover up our sin stains before God. Good works being the most tested thing I’m sure. How many times have you heard in a conversation about God that “I’m OK because God will look at my heart and see that my intentions have been good and I’ve tried to do the right thing”?. OK maybe a straw-man but I know I’ve had days when I’ve felt like I’ve done pretty well and that I didn’t need a Saviour to get me through. The fact that I’ve just fallen for one of the classic sins: self righteousness, does not even enter my head. 

If you and I are honest when we look at God’s laws we are stained through and through with sin. Only one thing is able to get us clean again in God’s sight: a perfect sacrifice on our behalf. Jesus provided us with that at the Cross. His blood is the genuine article, the perfect “Persil” to wash us white as snow.

“Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

For nothing good have I

Whereby Thy grace to claim;

I’ll wash my garments white

In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.”

Jesus Paid it All

Elvina M. Hall