“when I came to you brethren I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:1
I was somewhat amused and concerned at the outburst of joy from sections of the Christian community over Micheal Phelp’s iconic, index finger pointing, after winning another gold medal on Tuesday 9th Aug. (Many rugby players also practice this religious/spiritual gesture when they get tries)
A Christian watchdog group (Babylon Bee) reported that Phelps upon winning gold, “immediately put his index finger in the air, and even wiggled it back and forth for emphasis, as if to say, “Don’t miss this finger I am pointing toward Heaven. I do not deserve the glory for this win—Almighty God does!”
From that one ‘finger pointing exercise’ many Christians have been completely carried away by this iconic action of the swimming superstar.
‘Babylon Bee’ posts further comments of immature and over enthused Christians.
“So happy to see Phelps praising GOD. What a witness FOR HIM!” commented one Twitter user, before later adding “Michael Phelps is clearly a CHRISTIAN ROLE MODEL! Hope kids are watching!
“Michael Phelps winning hearts and minds. Someone get him in the pulpit!” enthused another Twitter user, while one Facebook user posted a 700-word discourse calling for more unashamed believers in the same inspirational, evangelical vein as the legendary swimmer.
You read that through Phelps pointing his index finger toward heaven? Like I mean to say, how immature can some Christians be?
But this is not new. There always have been those who think that the greatest testimony for the gospel is to have ‘superstars’ leading the way. But this is not how God builds his church. The Lord can use superstars, but He most often doesn’t. He most often uses ordinary people like us. He has always done His work this way. The prophets were mostly farmers and shepherds. The disciples, mostly fisherman, were those given the task of establishing the church. And the apostle goes all out to make sure his academicgreatness was never used to win people to Christ, he said “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” (1 Cor. 2:2).
The Lord does not need celebrities He wants men and women, no matter what earthly status, to be faithful servants of the gospel of Jesus Christ.