Last Sunday night our family watched some of the Oscars. We noted that the dresses were decidedly less “hoochie” than in years past. We were hoping that “bm” would be shut out and it almost was. We were able to cheer for Narnia and Kong in the technical awards and for Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line (greatness).
I didn’t like the little speech by George Clooney who said, “I'm proud to be part of this academy, proud to be part of this community, proud to be out of touch.” It reminds me of the verse that says, "…many live as enemies of the cross of Christ… and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things." (Philippians 3:18-19) There is no doubt that sometimes Christians have been their own worst enemy in regard to what some so called leaders have said. We haven’t always handled well, delicate issues like AIDS. What I’m wanting to say here is that there is a need for godly wisdom as it relates to being out of touch on both sides of morality. And Christians are the only ones who have access to that kind of wisdom.
We live in a time when “stars” think they are the end all of humanity. They express moral judgment on the entire world based on their brand of politics or their "enlightened" amoral existence in the “out of touch” reality that is Hollywood. Even Jon Stewart took advantage of the Oscars to "poke fun” at Hollywood by saying, “A lot of people say that this town is too liberal, out of touch with mainstream America, an atheistic pleasure dome, a modern-day, beachfront Sodom and Gomorrah, a moral black hole where innocence is obliterated in an endless orgy of sexual gratification and greed. I don't really have a joke here. I just thought you should know a lot of people are saying that."
Well he wasn’t nominated this year, but I’d give another Oscar to Sir Anthony Hopkins simply for what he said recently in a London magazine. Of his new movie, The Worlds Fastest Indian, Hopkins said, “No sex or violence, and that's refreshing.” Speaking of the attitudes that some of his colleagues display he commented, “I can't get caught up in the self-importance. People bow to your every wish and you forget where you come from and what you're doing. - It's a job, like any other, so don't make a big deal. Be polite, treat the crew with respect and don't think you're different.”
Sounds like the “Best Actor” I’ve heard in a while. As you know, I love movies. They are (or can be) the parables of our day. Go read Jim McGuiggans piece on Shrek and Jesus. http://www.jimmcguiggan.com) You’ll see what I mean. I really like it when one of the Hollywood crowd just gets real and speaks what is right and true. And it’s a bonus when the one who says it is a Knight.Michael Taylor
A while back I went to see a not totally lame movie called I-Robot staring Will Smith. In the movie Dr. Alfred Lanning is murdered and Will Smith’s character, Detective Del Spooner, is the investigator working the case. He finds an interactive hologram device that was created by Dr. Lanning to guide him through the investigation. 
Spooner asks this hologram questions and at certain points in the process the response programmed by Dr. Lanning to Spooner is, “You’re asking the wrong question. Program terminated.”
The apostles were in a discussion with Jesus one day. He had been teaching them about forgiveness. Their response was, “Increase our faith.” To this Jesus said, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, "Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you." (Luke 17:6) It wasn't so much the wrong question, it was the wrong request. Consider Jesus’ next statement,
"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'?
Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'" (Luke 17:7-10)
How does this fit? I think there are several things for us to learn from this exchange. First, it is not how much faith we have, it is in whom we have faith that matters. Second, don’t expect the Lord to do in you what you are responsible for. It was not Christ’s responsibility to increase their faith, it was their responsibility to do what they were told. It is not the Lord’s place to solve our problems, it is our responsibility to solve problems according to His will. Finally, Jesus was teaching his disciples to recognize who they were in relation to him. There is a danger in being too familiar with the Lord. As we like to say, “Jesus ain’t your homeboy. He is the Lord.” And when we have done what we were told we should say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.”*
Michael Taylor
* I know that Christ makes us worthy, this does not nullify the truth they needed to hear and it goes for us as well. He is the Lord.
My family is enjoying the winter Olympics right now. We watch some of it each day I think. You wont believe this, (I wouldn’t believe it if you said it) but we even watched “curling” last Sunday. I accidentally cheered when the American rock slider guy made a great shot. I was slightly embarrassed.
I love when people demonstrate a noble heart. We were watching couples ice skating last week and a Chinese couple (Zhang Hao and Zhang Dan) was going through their routine when Zhang Hao 
suddenly dropped his partner while doing a high lift. She crashed to the ground and landed on her knees. She tried to get up but fell back to the ice. Zhang Hao tried to lift her but she couldn’t keep her feet. He helped Zhang Dan over to the side. The music stopped and she was about to leave the ice when something happened.
It was like she came to herself and said, “No way! I came here to compete and I will finish this.” Zhang Dan gathered herself and skated back to the center and they finished their routine. They did the lifts, jumps and footwork as planned. No more falls or stumbles. When it was over, she cried. But she finished out of sheer will. I was proud for her. They didn’t win the gold medal, even with the fall they won the silver. But Zhang Dan's heart deserved gold.
There are a lot of people in the world who are good people: Gold Medal people. Those who endure illness without complaining are of this heart. People who face chronic pain but bear it bravely are of this metal. Those who work hard at marriage when it is far from good, these are gold medal people. People who try and try and get slapped down by the cruelty of life only to get back up again and keep trying. These are the gold medal people.
No I’m not saying they’re always holy or righteous or saved. I’m simply saying that they display in their character that part of their soul that is still God imprinted. Any goodness demonstrated by a human is a reflection of God no matter the kind of person they are. There is no goodness in the world that is not God created. Even those who turn their backs on God are made in his image.
I know a few gold medal people. And may I say here that Jonathan and Carolyn Taylor (my mom and dad) are of this heart. They never made it to the Parent Olympics. Dad wouldn’t even try out. But they are godly upright people who do their best to love their kids and grandkids, serve their God, share with others and love each other in the process. So in case I never said it before, I think they deserve a gold medal for being of noble heart and teaching me to love that about others.
Michael Taylor
