Hollywood

We are staying in Hollywood.
It is not a place I thought I would ever visit, but it is close to the  Thai consulate, where we needed to go to get our visas.  And the accommodations were reasonable.

I’ve never really cared much for the Hollywood scene.  I don’t watch many movies or TV shows.  I’m pretty much a cultural illiterate in regard to these things.

But it has been an educational experience staying here a couple of nights. I have found that Hollywood is a city devoted to worship.  People come here to somehow make a connection with others who have become famous in the film industry.  Posters. Wax figures. Names of stars in stars in the sidewalk.  Perhaps they can even catch a glimpse of someone famous.

(There is a seedy side to this city as well. The most common businesses seem to be sex/lingerie shops and tattoo shops.)

There are those who can tell you all about who starred in which film and who follow the lives of actors and actresses. There is a whole entertainment industry built around the entertainment industry.  You can not only watch your favorite actress in a show, you can watch a show about your favorite actress.  This comes close to and may in some cases even be idolatry.

As for those who are idolized, many no doubt, started in the industry because they liked acting.  Some got famous—and they liked being famous.  They become like those Jesus described in John 12:43, “for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.”  Some may not so much be in it for the fame as for the fortune.  Perhaps they like the earthly treasures that come as a result of being famous.

Some in the entertainment industry cannot handle the fame very well.  There is a huge, light-up billboard that currently flashes the face of an actor who is having personal and legal difficulties because of his moral lapses.

But lest I criticize others too quickly, I must look at my own life.  Do I devote more of my time and energy to the things of this world than I do to God?  It is easier for me to remember an obscure fact about someone or something that it is for me to quote the Word of God? (While riding back to Fresno, Ingrid asked me how high the pass was on the Grapevine. I said I thought it was 4144 feet. This was confirmed when we arrived a short while later. Indeed an obscure fact I remember--and I have never consciously tried to memorize it. And its not like we travel that way a lot. Why can I not recall scripture so easily?) Do I want to connect with God as much as these Hollywood visitors want to connect with the rich and famous. And in regard to ministry: do I do the things I do in church out of service to God and others or because I like to be popular and seen by men?  Do I desire men’s praise more than God’s praise? And just like those who fall because they become famous I must be careful that my position in the church does not set me up for a fall. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! (1 Corinthians 10:12 (NIV)