I haven't thought much of Mel Gibson's divorce. I'm not a big fan of celebrity stories but I got this feed from a blog I subscribe to and wanted to share the article and the blog, Provocative Christian Living. The author, Dan Lacich, is one of the pastors at my church and a talented writer who has given me great perspective on Christian topics. I'm only including a little of the article so go to the link and read it all. It might just challenge you.
Provocative Christian Living
Is Mel Gibson a Hypocrite?
Posted: 21 Apr 2009 01:05 PM PDT
Okay, I never thought I would ever write about something that happened on “The View” but as they say, “never say never”. The subject of Mel’s divorce came up and he was called a hypocrite because of it. The reason is that he has a very public and very conservative Roman Catholic faith. Clearly divorce is not something that the Roman Catholic church condones. It is assumed that Mel Gibson must then also have a position, at least before his own divorce was filled, that said divorce is a sin or at least wrong. So out comes the hypocrite charge........[much more article here]
Is Mel Gibson a hypocrite? Nope, I don’t think so. Is he a man who has deep convictions about some things? Absolutely! Does he always have the strength to live up to those convictions. Absolutely not!
Can you take out Mel’s name from the previous paragraph and insert your own? I know I can. I am not the man Christ wants me to be. I am not even the man that I want me to be. I suspect that you are not the person that Christ wants you to be or that you want to be. That is called being human, being a sinner in need of God’s forgiving grace. Since we are all in the same boat, maybe we ought to all be giving each other a little bit of that grace. That doesn’t mean we never say that something is right or wrong. We must do that. But we must do it with grace and mercy. Why? because Jesus said to love others the way you would want to be loved.
Isn't it the truth! I know I am a hypocrite! I wish I could say that I didn't fall short everyday, but I do. Thanks for giving us something to think about this morning :)
ReplyDeleteWe all fall short daily and need to remember that others do too and not judge. Thanks for sharing and reminding us of that!
ReplyDeleteI agree, and that is why it is so hard for me to hear/read stuff like this. It is the same with the controversy around gay marriage right now. It is okay to have your beliefs, I just hate it when people use God as a way to judge/condemn others. If there is one thing God is above all else, it is LOVE. Let him judge, let's just love on eachother.
ReplyDeleteAs Christians, we are called to strive to live like Christ, but we are still human that make huge mistakes! We are forgiven, not perfect. But I totally see why non-Christians see us as hypocrites. Our pastor will often say that when people say to him "I don't come to that church or go to church because that church is full of hypocrites," he'll reply, "Your right, it is full of hypocrites, so please don't let that stop you from coming too." Churches are made up of imperfect people and we expect too much from each other. That doesn't give us the excuss to stop trying to be like Christ though!
ReplyDeleteI always remember what my mother taught me....
ReplyDelete"By the grace of God, go I"...
I have to say I feel bad for those who are in the public eye...they don't always get the same grace as others in situations like this.
ReplyDeleteThis is excellent - good point to make!
ReplyDeleteI just gave out blogging awards in my latest post and you got one!
All the previous comments kind of sum it up for me too. But one question: Since it is his wife that actually filed for divorce, if somethig is out of his control, does that still make him a hypocrite?
ReplyDeletewell at least most of the Gibson kids are moved out; maybe this will minimize collateral damage from the divorce
ReplyDelete