jesus and the super bowl

The world seemed to spin off its axis during the Super Bowl Halftime Show. It only took minutes for Facebook to be filled with rants and judgments disguised as sermons. 

“I stopped watching and went to bed. Totally disgusted. I’m reminded that we (God’s children) are not of this world but belong to another world.” 

“Women, please act like women, if you want to be treated like one.”

“The only word to describe what was shown was nasty.”

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Shout out to the First Amendment, am I right? So while these opinions are valid, I saw some discrepancies and major concerns with these remarks. 

1. “Nasty” and “Disgusting” aren’t words I would use to describe Shakira and JLo’s performance. Both women are of Hispanic descent. Sure, their moves included a lot of hip action. Have you ever heard of the salsa? What about the rumba? Their dancing was representative of their culture; which is something to embrace and be proud of. Maybe their dancing looks different than what you’re accustomed to, but does that give us the right to call it disgusting? I saw confidence, strength, courage, talent, and complete athleticism on their end. I saw go-getter women with successful careers in music. I saw women with dance moves far better than any I will ever possess. I know for a fact, I could never muster the boldness to perform in front of millions of people with such bravery. More power to you, sisters.
2. Even if Shakira and JLo’s performance was completely inappropriate and horrific, I have to wonder if Jesus would still deem them as trashy and disgusting women. My guess is absolutely not. It becomes a slippery slope when we allow our pride to measure the sins and shortcomings of others when we are no more “clean” or “righteous” than anyone else. 
3. Both Shakira and JLo have careers in secular music. I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t expecting them to host a foot-washing service and sing the Doxology at halftime. We don’t know their hearts. Maybe they know Jesus, maybe they don’t. But how can we expect them to shine the light of Christ when we don’t even know if they know Him? When we turn on national television or hop on the internet, we would be crazy to think that everyone will have the same worldview as us. Whether you agree with their style of dance or not, casting judgment and throwing on labels in no way shows the love and compassion of Jesus. 

I hope all of this chatter about the Super Bowl Halftime Show reminds us that life is too short to spend our energy tearing others down and casting judgments on those who do not look like Jesus. I’m reminded of the perfect and loving posture of Christ, who welcomed every and all to the table, ate with sinners, and called them worthy.

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