Honoring Mothers and Comedians

I was speaking at a Christian conference and one of the most famous Christian speakers in the world stood up to speak. I won't tell you his name, but it rhymes with Bosh McFowell.

And, right after a comedian had performed and the band had led us in a great time of worship, he walked up to the microphone and said, "I'm not here to entertain you, I'm going to share with you from my heart."

I felt like slugging him--in a Christian way, of course. What an insulting thing to say to the band members, to the comedian. As if they're not sharing from their hearts. As if actors, storytellers, writers, musicians are not serving God wholeheartedly with their unique gifts just because they’re not preaching. As if the ministry of entertainment, or leading worship, is someone less significant or less genuine than the ministry of giving a keynote address.

I see this attitude a lot in Christianity today. Just this morning on the radio, the host of a program called Real Family Life (I won't tell you what program it was, but the guy's name rhymes with Grennis Plainy), started reading a list of what all the descendants of a Christian man named John Edwards who lived in the 17th century had accomplished. He listed how many had become doctors and lawyers and senators and even a vice president.

My children were in the car and I snapped the radio off. "That makes me so mad," I said. "As if being a lawyer is more noble or important than being a plumber. As if being a mother and waking up in the middle of the night for years on end to take care of your baby is less significant than being a politician. Or that a farmer who works from dawn until dusk to provide for his family isn't worth appearing in a list of important descendants. How many of the guy’s descendants were mothers or farmers?"

Every person can serve, speak, play, work and honor God from the heart. And whether or not my daughters grow up to be lawyers or politicians they are just as worth honoring and remembering as those who do.