I want to make this clear: I am not ashamed of Christ. I have been a Christian for almost 15 years. Not always a great one, or even a good one, but still, a Christian.
That is why I just want to SCREAM when people who are/claim to be Christians COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY SCREW IT UP FOR THE REST OF US.
I am talking specifically about the Weaver family from The Amazing Race: Family Edition.
Somehow they have gotten the idea that all the other teams hate them because they are Christians. But you know what? I'm not so fond of them myself. Not because of their Christianity, but because they are just rotten people. I WANTED to like them; their backstory is so sad (dad died on a race track) and I almost always feel a kinship with fellow believers. But their kind of Christianity must be the off-brand, because ... dang!
It's not just the self-righteous tone of "We answer to a Higher Power." I can get behind that, because I believe it. However, I don't think it applies when you're talking about being Yielded in The Amazing Race. As if God is going to punish the Paolos for following the rules of the game! Probably, though, God might hand down some judgments for the Weavers' rude comments about other teams' appearances and occupations.
Calling other teams liars and saying, "I hate them," and calling them "stupid" and "retards" is just not being a good witness. And saying these things while pointing out that other teams curse is just a case of the pot and the kettle, because sometimes one is as bad as the other.
Also, hypocrisy? I am as guilty of it as the next person, but when you FREAK OUT because someone is saying, "Hey, batter batter batter, sa-WING batter!" at your son, and then try to convince a toll booth operator to slow down the team behind you, THAT is hypocritical. And it is also not what a good mother should do, LINDA WEAVER.
Then there is this: okay, I believe in prayer, I know the Bible says we should pray without ceasing, but I don't think it's right to pray a prayer that says, "And please help us to beat the other teams ... if it's Your will." I just feel squeamish about that; maybe it sounds too much like cheating to me. And what if the other teams are praying that as well? I just know that, for myself, in competitive events, my coaches would pray something like "Please help us all to do our best and to glorify You in whatever we do."
And now I just totally implied that I am a better Christian, which ... GAH! But I blame the Weavers, because I can.
My point is, the Weavers were part of 12 families' lives for about six weeks. Assuming that none of those other families are Christians, how many are going to be convinced of Jesus' love for them after being bullied, back-stabbed, and berated by the Weavers? Of the millions of unsaved people who watch TAR:FE, how many are going to be completely turned off because of the Weavers' behavior? Shoot, I'M totally disgusted; I'm ashamed to have them as representatives of my faith.
It's said that when you point a finger at someone else, you've got three pointing back at yourself. Well, maybe the lesson God wants me to learn from this fiasco is that I could be influencing a lot more people to turn AWAY from Him that to turn TO Him.
And I don't want to be that girl.
11.09.2005
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4 comments:
I am not a Christian. I have no hangups or animosity towards Christians. I have many friends and family who are Christian and (in most cases) I am impressed by their faith and how it guides them through life. I have to say that to us non-believers it is very easy to notice the Weavers, Pat Robertsons, nasty co-workers, etc who (I feel comfortable saying this) are not GOOD Christians and have drifted quite afar from Christ's teachings (as I understand them).
I am glad to read your post because I have felt (in watching the Weaver family) that if I WAS a Christian I would feel very frustrated with them on TV.
2 other points:
1) I tend to be very suspicious of the editing of these TV shows to paint "good guy vs bad guy" scenarios that maybe did not really exist. In this case, I don't see how the editing could be at fault - they are just despicable, self-righteous, hypocritical people
2) I would NOT assume the other families were NOT Christian. The fact that they are not the type of Christians who wear their religion on their sleeves makes them no less Christian. Considering the stats in this country, I'll bet at least half of the participants (maybe not whole teams) attend a Christian church.
Thanks for the comment!
I have talked to others who feel, as you do, that some of the other families probably are Christians, too. I am not saying they COULDN'T be, but I was trying to make the point that if they AREN'T, are they really going to want to be, with the example set by the Weavers?
I, too, take editing in consideration for most people, but my goodness! I do not see how the Weavers can complain of being edited to be the bad guys, when they have said the things they've said and done the things they've done. I mean, those things don't just come out of thin air!
I think it's also telling that the booted contestants don't have anything good to say about them either.
Mei, my husband and daughter--both Christians!--are big fans of the show, and they can't stand the Weavers either. I suspect a lot of Christians will want to disassociate themselves from them!
That's really the sad thing about this whole situation, Cindy.
The Weavers had a great opportunity to go out and show Christ to millions of people, and instead, they're alienating EVERYBODY, even other Christians!
It really makes me think of how I present myself to other people ...
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