♫ I'm a Belieber
31 March, 2015
Along with every other Cable-owning tween in America, I DVR'ed the Comedy Central Roast of Justin Beiber. I'm an unashamed, self-proclaimed Beiber lover, as many of you readers can similarly attest to regardless of your insistance toward hatred for the poor guy. Ladies, quit the "I'm too cool for JB" persona and join the dark side. He's adorable, and you know it.
As the media has loved to point out, the Beibs has taken a handful of tumbles over the past few years, throwing eggs around his neighborhood, getting into a fight over laser-tagging with a 12-year old, and inappropriately commenting that Anne Frank would have been a Belieber (although, she was a young girl... he has a point).
All nonsense aside, I have no predispositions on whether you love him or you don't. He's a superstar heartthrob with looks, power, a chrome Maserati, and intense fame - he was carried up the Great Wall of China by his entourage, for goodness sake; the kid has it all (based on worldly standards, that is) and, as any other teenager, has made (more than) a fair share of mistakes.
I fast-forwarded through most of the jokes; it was a pretty raunchy show, really crude and sometimes cringe-worthy, to be honest. There was one part, however, I didn't want to miss: the closing remarks from the Beibs himself. After poking fun at the roasters, Justin looked into the camera, nothing but seriousness in his eyes, and apologized.
"I lost some of my best qualities (these last couple years)," he said. "I'm looking forward to being someone to be proud of. Someone close to me once said how you rise from a fall is how you are truly defined as a man."
Beibs went on to explain how he was thrown into fame at a young age, leading to his (well-known) reckless abandon and party-hardy lifestyle. He said he was in the process of changing for the better, hoping to patch up his spotty reputation in the public eye.
"Yeah, that's all well and nice for Justin," I hear all you readers thinking. "But how does he plan to do that?"
Well, we'll see where he ends up, I'm no prophet. But, word on the street is he's on the right path: Justin has been hanging around with Judah Smith and Carl Lentz, famous pastors of Seattle and NYC, going on retreats in which he does everything they tell him to. "I did everything they did, which has been good for me because the past few years I've been doing everything on my time." Lentz baptised the Beibs, beliebe it or not, and has pointed to Scripture as the truth Justin's been missing all along. To prove it, the Beibs ended the night of roasting by thanking God for His infinite grace and for never giving up on him, regardless of his mistakes.
^ Beibs praying @ Hillsong Church in NYC prior to baptism
How many times have you found yourself judging someone, be it JB or the Kardashians or Snooki or David Beckham or Lauren Conrad or Leo DiCaprio or, well, anyone for that matter. Personally, I find it easy to be a Judge Judy, pointing my finger and laughing at others whom make poor decisions. Frankly, it shows how quick I am to forget my OWN sinfulness, shortcomings, bad choices, and falls.
As humans, we will make mistakes. Peter, Jesus's right-hand-man, denied even knowing him when Jesus was in danger. King David, the star of the Old Testament, had an affair and killed the woman's husband. The Bible is filled (and I do mean filled ) with people making mistakes. One commonality I've found, though, is God's willingness to let it go. He's a God who forgives, not a God who judges. He's a God who loves, not a God who hates. He's a God who helps and aids and cures, not a God who harms. Jesus Christ is the perfect example: He came to help those whom were sick - both physically and mentally. He came to help those who KNEW they needed help and were accepting of His grace.
The Beiber roast was mainly meant to be a night of jokes, which it was. But, when you look closely into Beiber's eyes during his final speech, it became none-other than a night of redemption; the world's biggest superstar turning a thankful heart to his creator. Scoff if you may, but watching tonight, I saw a glimpse of a class act out of Justin. Sure, he's still a punk, but he has his eyes in the right direction: on a God who makes beauty out of ashes.
^ Only fitting, right? ツ
