Carrie Prejean - Miss CaliforniaI was just reading about the whole Miss California controversy with Carrie Prejean.  If you haven't heard, she was asked a direct question during the Miss USA contest about same sex marriage.  Specifically, she was asked if it same sex marriage should be legalized throughout the USA.  In response, she very respectfully stated her belief that marriage should be reserved for heterosexual couples, which by the way is the stated belief of each and every president of the USA, including President Obama!  However, Miss California is a much easier target than President Obama, so the arrows and daggers started flying immediately.  You could hear the hatred and the venom flowing from the gay rights activists (primarily Perez Hilton), who obviously no longer believe in free speech.  Anyway, following this revelation about her personal beliefs, the witch hunt was on.  As Carrie's background was scoured, photos appeared, as they often do.  These were 'racy' photos of Carrie as a 17 year old, posing 'semi-nude' (which was described as in underwear but topless, though not fully exposed) in hopes of landing a deal with Victoria's Secret Lingerie.  Now there is talk of taking her crown away because of these newly discovered photos and the battle lines have been drawn.

That is just the background information, however, and not the point of my blog.  The point of my blog is how people like Carrie and others can be veritable fortresses for the faith in one area and totally blind to the requirements of our faith in another.  First of all, I applaud Carrie for her firm stance for traditional marriage and her ability to be full of grace as those so called 'tolerant' people to the left of her destroy and malign her character.  That is awesome and a real hallmark of our shared faith as followers of Jesus.  On the other hand, though, I just read this exact quote from her about taking these 'semi-nude' photos.  Here it is:  "I am a Christian, and I am a model," she said. "Models pose for pictures, including lingerie and swimwear photos."  Wait a minute . . . did you catch that?  Now I am not here to try and tear Carrie down . . . I am here to build her up.  I am for her, not against her.  I want her to continue to humbly stand against the onslaught of hatred and venom coming her way.  However, this must be a huge blind spot for her.  Of course models pose in swimsuits and lingerie, but is it ok for a Christian model to pose in swimsuits and lingerie in poses that have only one purpose, to incite lust in men?  Isn't lusting over 'semi-nude' ladies a bad thing according to Jesus?  Therefore, wouldn't making money from inciting lust in men be a poor decision by a Christian?  And what about Paul's admonition to women in 1 Timothy, which tells them to 'dress modestly'?   If semi-nude and topless is the new 'modest', then what exactly is immodest???  Just thinking out loud here, but I am pretty sure about this one.

Here is the important part, though.  I am not tearing Carrie down, I am trying to build her up by pointing out her blind spot, just as I need others to point out my blind spots.  As is says in Proverbs, "a fool multiplies his compliments, but the harsh words of a friend are true."  I often ponder men of history who did awesome things for God but had enormous blind spots.  The reformer Martin Luther had incredible courage for Jesus, yet he was antisemitic.  John Calvin was an awesome protestant reformer and preacher, yet he consented to the death penalty for a guy accused of heresy.  Martin Luther King Jr. stood by his conviction of non-violent protest even when his home was fire bombed by white supremacists in Montgomery, yet he had a well documented blind spot in that he was an adulterer.  I don't think I could be as strong as any of these guys in their strengths, I hope I am stronger than all of them in their blind spots.  Jonathon Edwards was a great theologian and man of God who led out in the great revival that came to America in the 18th century, but he had a blind spot in regards to slavery.  Thousands of missionaries left America and went around the world in the 19th century and many of them died pursuing their cause of taking the Gospel to all people, but they often had a serious blind spot with racism.  The Southern Baptist Convention was born as a haven for southern churches who were in favor of owning slaves, yet they have given billions of dollars in feeding the poor and taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth (including Africa!), burying many colleagues along the way.  And the list goes on . . .

You can almost pick anyone 100 years after the fact and clearly see their godliness in one area and their blind spots in another.  This no longer causes me to totally dismiss or discount these people, though it once did.  On the contrary, it causes me to give a lot more credence to the fact that even the best of men is flawed in some area, which makes me wonder, where is my blind spot?  When my life and ministry are reviewed 100 years from now, what will be the obvious thing that I am currently doing or believing that is totally contrary to what Jesus would want?  What is that one thing that I just can't see right now because of my desire for success, because of my cultural setting, because of my family heritage, etc., etc.  I often ask that question and if you held a gun to my head, I would say that today the blind spot of the church corporate and me personally is materialism.  100 years from now followers of Jesus will laugh, or cry, hysterically at our foolish justifications for our personal and corporate materialism, as we have found a way to 'baptize' it into the church and 'use it' for the Kingdom of God.  100 years from now, though, our foolish justifications will be exposed and seen clearly.  There are probably others as well, but I can't see them - they are blind spots after all!!  Let me know if you see any blind spots in our church in particular or our culture in general.  Comment below.