Stephen Colbert shared Jesus?
And the ongoing Olympic facepalm
A few Memos ago, I brought up my love for the Olympics, how I always look forward to watching them, love the international competition, the uniqueness of the sports, all of it. I also mentioned that this time around it all came with more than a bit of luster rubbed off of it since they were being hosted in the rough equivalent of 1940s Germany. If that seems the typical, unfair Nazi comparison, consider:
Powerful country
Wicked leader
Military police state
An ethnic minority
Religious persecution
Slave labor
Prison uniforms
Packing victims in trains
Accounts of torture and execution
The free world paralyzed not knowing how to prioritize the issue
I mean as much as I think Nazi comparisons are overdrawn, overdone, and over-exaggerated these days, this one fits the bill about as closely as you can imagine. So again, it makes it difficult to enjoy the games when it feels like the free world is participating in communist China’s snow job (like what I did there, “snow” … winter Olympics … no? fine).
But in a weird way, I’ve started to realize that our participation in this Olympics is maybe going to end up awakening more people to the reality of what’s happening there than if we boycotted. Consider how many people were galled by this bizarre announcement from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi:
How many people watched that clip either on television or social media and said to themselves, “We make heroes out of sports stars who kneel for the national anthem to protest causes that matter to them, but are telling other sports stars not to even mention a Holocaust?” It rubbed people the wrong way. A lot of people.
And with more paying attention, less than a day into the games, this clip of the Chinese communist police hauling off a Dutch reporter live on-air has gone viral:
Personally, I wanted the United States to set a moral example and offer the free world a “Western Olympics” or something that would undermine the IOC’s complete capitulation to and corrupt relationship with the evil regime in China. But I can be persuaded to think the next best thing is the ongoing revelations that will continue to emerge that detail the nature of China and the abuses of their country in front of a world that would otherwise not be watching.
And speaking of people who would ordinarily not be exposed to information and perspectives that are good and necessary, I’d be remiss not to mention something that happened during the Late Show with Stephen Colbert this last week.
I certainly don’t mind admitting that I am not a regular viewer of Colbert’s program, or any late-night television for that matter. I know some people get into it, but the few times I have seen segments they’ve always been overtly political, not funny, and more often than not, unnecessarily condescending. That isn’t comedy to me, so rather than be annoyed by it, I just stay away.
But when I saw some buzz about Colbert’s conversation with singer/songwriter Dua Lipa regarding his faith, I decided to check it out. I’m glad I did. Colbert is a self-professed Catholic Christian and to his credit has not shied away from that when pressed. If you didn’t see the exchange, watch it here and I think you’ll see why, as a believer, I was encouraged by it.
The Apostle Peter tells us to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have,” and to “do this with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15).” Stephen Colbert was asked about his hope, and he was ready with an answer.
Now, more than a few folks have pointed out the truth that Colbert didn’t offer a “full gospel presentation.” And, of course, that is true. Two other things are true about those observations, however. First, had Colbert done so, many of those same folks would have been criticizing his theological understanding of the Gospel. Second, and most importantly, he wasn’t asked about that.
I’ve noticed on social media there is an alarming tendency growing amongst Christians to find something to criticize in nearly every situation that a fellow professing believer participates. They weren’t winsome enough, they weren’t serious enough, they weren’t sufficiently sound in doctrine, they weren’t robust enough, they left something out, they made too many jokes, they seemed uncomfortable, they were too compromising, they were too condemning. It goes on and on and on, and it’s exhausting.
It’s concerning to me, but also confusing as I ponder how many errors I make in my daily witness to the glory of Christ. The more I grow in my faith, the more I’m finding less interest in attacking what other believers are messing up because I can barely keep up with my own messes. Matt Smethurst spoke to this in a recent tweet.
Look, you could count on one hand the political viewpoints of Stephen Colbert that I agree with and promote. I would have profound disagreements with his theology. But how much value is there – in terms of Kingdom-building – in me writing and posting a 15-point summary of everything he could have said and should have said to walk Dua Lipa down the pathway to salvation?
I’m inclined to say that Ms. Lipa is a fruit that is not yet ripe and ready to be picked. Colbert introduced her, and countless others, to a fascinating reality believers understand – that death isn’t to be feared and it isn’t final. Wouldn’t my time be better spent capitalizing on that and building from it with those in my circle for whom that’s a foreign concept?
I don’t know the state of Colbert’s heart or his relationship with God. But I don’t need to. What I need to know is that he planted a seed of hope in Christ on national television. That gives me an opportunity to either scorch that seed with my criticisms or water it with the Holy Spirit that works in me. I’ll choose the latter.
ICYMI…
CNN host Brian Stelter expressed shock recently about why people would trust someone like Joe Rogan more than his network. I made a video to help him understand:
Also, a lot of people are talking these days about battling “misinformation.” But by that, most mean, “information I disagree with.” I wrote about that in this column last week:
Glad he did. I doubt Colbert’s faith, but if he is a genuine believer in Christ, that is wonderful. If he is not, I have no doubt that God can use the mouth of an ass to speak truth.
God is the only righteous judge but as a fruit inspector, I'm highly skeptical