There’s Nothing New Under The Sun

Article by Craig Williams

Throughout my life I have watched several awards shows like the Emmys, the Grammys and the Oscars. I have also watched many sporting events – only God truly knows how many. All these events are all different but there is one thing I’ve seen that they have in common. Whenever performers accept awards and athletes get positive recognition, one of the first thing they do is to thank God. At first my reaction is: “This is amazing! They are giving glory to God.” Outside of the movies they act in or the sport they play, I don’t know their true character or if they are born-again Christians, but some of their actions in public would tell me they are not living a Godly lifestyle even though they give thanks to God. Not exactly a good witness. The next question I asked is why do they feel the need to thank God? Is it because they grew up in a Christian home? Is it a religious ritual? A cool thing to do? A catchphrase? Of course, this is nothing new as this has happened before in history.

According to Ecclesiastes 1:9 (NLT) – History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new.

Let’s now look at Acts 16:19 (NLT)

16One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes.

17She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.”

18This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her.

19Her masters’ hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace.

In this situation we read that a fortune teller spoke about Paul, that he is a servant of the Most High God. She is telling the truth. So why did Paul command the demon that was supplying her power to leave? The fortune teller is in the business of making money. She is trying to gain more clients. The fortune teller is trying to lure Christians by appearing to be on God’s side so that Christians would believe she is a woman of God and buy what she is selling. The fortune teller can slowly lead Christians away from God without them realizing it. This is what I believe celebrities are doing today with their audience. They thank God and make Christians believe they are one of them to get more followers.

I really don’t go out seeking entertainment news but sometimes stories are repeated so often that it is hard to avoid it. Most Christians would be able to see that a lot of celebrities don’t live a Godly lifestyle. We live in the age of social media when having as many followers as possible is the most important thing. For those that get a lot of followers, they become influencers. We are getting influenced by what celebrities want us to do. They are trying to take the place of God. This is nothing new as the enemy has been doing the same thing since Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the Forbidden Tree. Let’s be aware of who we are influenced by. We should be influenced by the way Jesus lived His life.

Men, be aware of this strategy of the enemy. Don’t just stand there and take what the enemy is giving us. Pray for wisdom and discernment. I encourage you to be more like Paul and take action in Jesus’ name.

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