A New Creation

Hey Bloggers!

I have a confession of sorts to make! I have a guilty pleasure that I watch on television that I just can't seem to get enough of. It's a show on CMT called "Gone Country". Have you seen it?

The premise of the reality show is that six celebrities from genres other than country music (actors, athletes, former pop stars, and this year a former Miss USA)move to Nashville, work with country song writers, perform for the fans in Nashville, and compete to see who has the best opportunity to "Go Country". At the end of the season, the person who wins gets the chance to go into the studio with John Rich of Big & Rich fame to record a country record. Wow, I just dated myself there....they get the opportunity to record a country CD!!

What is so fascinating to me about this show is what happens on the first episode of each season. Sitting in John's mansion (which is my vision for what my mansion will look like in Heaven someday), all the participants are at his dining room table chowing down on a huge BBQ dinner. John asks each person very candidly why they wanted to participate in this competition and why they want to "go country". The answers are often heart-warming, sometimes heart-breaking, but always have something to do with making a new start, to becoming a new creation.

This season, Tara Connor, a former Miss USA is one of the contestants. You may recall that she had a drinking problem during her reign and ended up in rehab during her stint wearing the crown. While John asked her why she was there, she began to tear up as she described a life that began to spin out of control at the age of 14 when her parents divorced. She began turning to alcohol to help soothe the pain and ease her fears. Now most people know her as the "rehab beauty queen" and think that she is a messed up drunk. The sad thing in that? She's only 22 years old and already feels labeled. She wants to use this opportunity to share her story, tell people who she really is and get a new start in life.

I certainly believe the goals the contestants set for themselves are commendable. I enjoy watching their attempts at re-starting and re-claiming their careers in a new outlet. But I must admit I'm struck by all the striving, stress and pressure they place on themselves to just "be".

It reminds me of Paul's second letter to the church in Corinth. This translation is from The Message, and I just LOVE it!! I honestly think if all these contestants were to have a personal relationship with Christ, they may just be able to cease the striving to become a new creation, because they'd realize they already area! Might they be searching for God when they think they're searching for fame?

"Because of this decision we don't evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don't look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We're Christ's representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We're speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you."

Just thought you'd want to know,

K