Everything

You don't have to look far on a Saturday evening to find a plethora of TV shows that feature people striving to achieve their musical dreams, make their relatives proud and be the best. Often, these people appear convinced that the only way to be happy is to find their identity in their abilities, get famous and earn approval from others. Its commonplace to hear contestants claiming that winning the competition 'means everything to me'! These words are both tedious and sad, but will sound familiar if like me, you admit to watching (and even enjoying!)  some of this television gold. I'm talking X factor, Britain's got talent, The Apprentice..the list goes on. 


I'm by no means a die-hard fan, but during the week I caught the end of American Idol. If you're unfamiliar with the format, a contestant (usually the person with the lowest number of public votes) gets eliminated from the competition each week. Fast-forwarding through most of the singing, screaming and crying I found the outcome of this episode greatly refreshing. Get involved with the moment, and skip to 2.50 minutes if you get bored.

This guy was such a graceful runner up. He doesn't seem to count his identity in what he does, how well he achieves or what people think of him. I've never set eyes on him before but it's immediately clear that his life is about more than just music and making it big. However you rate this as a performance, this guy  genuinely points to Jesus as everything. In light of our celebrity-obsessed,fame, fortune and stuff-based culture, what a message for America, and the world!