Keepin' it Real

Jen, "What does it matter if some stranger looks on the internet and sees your bird do a trick?"

Adam, "Boy, could you not get it any less? We are living in a golden age of unearned fame. People achieve celebrity status from the most ridiculous reasons."

Jen, "Yes, and it's desperate and pathetic."

Adam, "And I want in on it!"

Adam, from an episode of the sitcom Rules of Engagement as he explains to his girlfriend Jen that he wants to video his cockatiel grabbing a peanut from his mouth.

Yes, we are living in a society where almost everyone wants unearned fame. And sometimes reaching for that can keep us from staying to true to who we really are. There is a world of competition out there and almost everyone is buying into it. Everything from video taping our pets doing stupid tricks, to taping a fierce tornado, to competing to see who can get the most FaceBook friends or Twitter followers, it's the world we live in today.

Perhaps Dr. Seuss foreknew of this dilemma years ago when he was teaching children,

"Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!"

As for being real, one of the greatest film scenes that involved no acting whatsoever, came from the 1967 movie Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. The final scene called for Katherine Hepburn to cry and she had no trouble expressing that because this was to be the ninth and final time Hepburn would appear in a film with her sidekick Spencer Tracy. Not only that, but Tracy's health was deteriorating rapidly throughout the making of this picture. Tracy died 17 days after filming the classic. And Katherine Hepburn? She would win an Oscar for her role in the film.

Being real and staying true to who I am plays an important role in my life. I prefer and enjoy the simple things in life and wish to remain uncompetitive in the search for unearned fame. Some of the
I Am's I choose to follow:

I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. Galations 2:20

I am a new creation; the old has passed away. - 2 Corinthians 5:17

I am a new person created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. - Ephesians 4:24

I live and move and have my being in Christ. - Acts 17:28

There's no reason to try to achieve unearned fame or achieve elite status when you can choose to live an abundant life in Christ. In Christ you already have achieved elite status.

As for Adam and his bird trick? Jen got to video the cockatiel biting Adam's lip while grabbing for a peanut from Adam's mouth. And... the video reached 60,000 hits on YouTube!