I spotted this really interesting article about Justin Bieber in Gateway News last week.
Basically, the Biebs is saying that he is putting his bad-boy antics behind him and instead will be working on his relationship with God.
I've always liked Justin Bieber, because I love music and homeboy can sang!
He is really talented.
But I've never appreciated the silly decisions he made (wrt drugs and partying) because I realize that he has alot of influence on a large portion of the tweenagers of the world. So I found it refreshing and so awsome to hear him openly admit to NEEDING to have God in his life.
He did it without caring that it would affect record sales or concert sales. That's legit.
It's legit AND sad that there are people out there who would prefer that He rather posts pics on Instagram of himself getting drunk on weekends, with various young women en tow. I mean, that makes sense, right?
But noooo, not this Jesus stuff! Put it away! We don't want to see!
Gasp! How dare this boy say that He has a relationship with God! Hoowww darrrre heeeee!
You know, I find it incredibly shocking that people are lauded as brave when they decide that they are changing their physical appearance from a man to a woman (for example). I mean, it's acceptable to openly proclaim to LIVE FOR a particular soccer team - wear their shirts, sing their praises on Facebook, fight and defend in open debates etc.
But I think that being brave means a whole lot more than physical gratification.
Being brave means that that you are willing to lay down your life for what you believe to be the truth. Being brave means that you are willing to go against the grain to do the right thing, even if it means that you might lose record sales or respect or popularity. If you believe the word of God to be the truth, and you are not okay with just believing that during Easter or when someone in your family is ill, and you decide to LIVE FOR that.
Well, I think that THAT is brave.
Anyone can do what everyone else is doing.
But it takes some guts to do what others don't want to do.
(and you can quote me on that)
So I say: Good on ya, Justin Bieber! Good on ya! It was a very brave decision to make and I totally pray that he goes from strength to strength.
Here is a snippet from the article, which was based on an interview with Joe La PUma for the Oct/Nov 2015 issue of Complex.
“I forgot what I was about, what my mom raised me to be,” Bieber confessed to COMPLEX. “I veered off, and I got tainted. I came into the music industry at 13. I was trying to trust people and they’d break my heart at 15,” he says.
Bieber became disillusioned with people who took advantage of him. In response, he started to “do his own thing.”
“I got into a little bit of trouble,” he admits, “—nothing that other 20-year-olds don’t get into—just rebelling a little bit. Now, being 21, I’m coming into my own and around some pretty cool people who are not afraid to tell me what’s real.”
He says his behavior pushed the limits. “I was doing anything. I was doing so many things that I shouldn’t even be on the planet still. I think that it (my survival) was by the grace of God.”
Following his epic break-up with Selena Gomez, his heart began to soften toward God. “Love is a choice. Love is not a feeling. People have made it seem in movies that it’s this fairy tale. That’s not what love is.
“You’re not gonna want to love your girl sometimes but you’re gonna choose to love her,” he continued. “That’s something in life that I had to figure out. I can’t lean on people. I got to lean on God. I gotta trust in Him through all my situations. Then, hopefully, my other relationships will flourish around me.”
After his turbulent adolescence, he also began to reflect on the limits of science and his place in the universe. “For a “big bang” to create all this is more wild to think about than thinking about there being a God,” he told COMPLEX.
“Imagine putting a bunch of gold into a box, shaking up the box, and out comes a Rolex. It’s so preposterous once people start saying it. At this point, my faith has gotten me to where I am. My faith has brought me to a whole other level. I love talking about my faith.”
Bieber bemoans some of the representations of Christianity he sees on late-night TV and says he wants to focus less on religion and more on his personal relationship with God.
“I’m not religious. I, personally, love Jesus and that was my salvation. I want to share what I’m going through and what I’m feeling and I think it shouldn’t be ostracized.”
“I actually feel better and more free now that I know what I can do and what I can’t do. I’m gonna use my voice for a reason. I think that people, as soon as they start hearing me saying I’m a Christian, they’re like, “Whoa Justin, back up, take a step back.”
Bieber says he wants to pursue Christlikeness with increased focus. “I do not want to shove this down anyone’s throat. I just wanna honestly live like Jesus. Not be Jesus—I could never—I don’t want that to come across weird. He created a pretty awesome template of how to love people and how to be gracious and kind. If you believe it, he died for our sins.”
“It’s like with God: The whole thing with religion is you present yourself holy and bring your offerings so that God can bless you, when the whole point of the relationship [should be], ‘No, I’m gonna do this because he loves me. I’m gonna do this because he’s amazing and not because [I] have to, [but] because [I] want to.’ That’s the whole thing with religion that’s been throwing off the people. It’s not a ‘have to.’ It should be just like a personal relationship. Like, ‘Hey, I love you because you first loved me.’
“If we can understand that we’re all imperfect, let’s come to God and come for his help. You’re not weak by doing that. I think that’s a common misperception of Christians, that you’re being weak because you can’t handle it. None of us can handle this world, dude! It’s eating us alive.”
But, man, I don’t wanna have to do it on my own. I know for sure my parents can’t give me all that I need. I know that my friends can’t give me all that I need. There’s something missing. I think that going to church is fellowship, it’s relationship, it’s what we’re here on the earth to do, to have this connection that you feel there’s no insecurities. I think that’s where we need to be. What are your thoughts on Biebers new found relationship with God? xxxL
