the basic message # E114
1 John 3:10
This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
I don’t like Howard Stern, therefore I don’t watch his demented TV program. Last night was different, since his guest was Gary Busey. So what does that have to do with anything? “E” television had just done a one-hour profile of Busey’s life, and towards the end of the show it was revealed that Busey is a born-again Christian who has been active in Promise Keepers. So how does this tie into the passage above? Am I referring to Howard Stern as a child of the devil? Sadly, Gary Busey is only about 1 notch above Stern. Stick with me.
Matthew 7:1-2
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
For many years I thought this scripture meant that you couldn’t say anything bad about a person’s actions without being judgmental. I’ve since learned that we’re not to judge people’s motives, but external actions speak for themselves. Back to Busey. I like Gary Busey the actor. I don’t care for Gary Busey the “Christian”. During the documentary on Busey’s life, he admitted that he had been a cocaine addict as well as an all-round bad person. About 10 years ago he nearly died from brain injuries incurred while riding a motorcycle without a helmet. He stated that “God was speaking to him” after that accident, but he didn’t heed the call. Then some years later he nearly OD’d on cocaine. After that he knew he had to listen to the call of God. He heard about a Promise Keepers rally many miles away, and drove to the stadium. When the altar call was made, he was one of the first to respond. He went home and told his lovely, hopeful wife, “I’ve brought Jesus home with me.” I’m really listening about this time, hanging onto every word. The show closed with Busey giving a testimony and asking everyone he had wronged for forgiveness. I was impressed. In the closing credits of the program it was revealed that Busey had recently been accused of battering his wife, and that they ultimately filed for a divorce. Okay, even Christians get divorced, so I’m still hopeful. Then I hear that Busey is going to be on Howard Stern. I’m wondering what a Christian is going to do on Stern’s show. I thought at first that perhaps it was an old show before Busey found God, but it didn’t take Stern long to start joking about Busey and Promise Keepers and then asking Busey if he was, in fact, a “Jesus Freak”. Busey make a couple of remarks that made me think he was there to stick up for Christianity, but before it was all over Stern had won out. Busey was basically pulled down into Stern’s cesspool of vulgarity and stupidity. Enough of this.
What is the point? Busey should have been savvy enough to know that you don’t walk into a lion’s den unarmed and hope to escape without a scratch. Millions of people probably watch Stern’s show, and if they're going to form an opinion about Christians based on Gary Busey’s sorry witness, we all suffer. Like the aggressive motorist with the “Jesus fish” on his rear bumper, Busey is a walking contradiction. Let’s take a lesson from this incident and realize that when we boldly go on record as a Christian, we need to be extremely careful what we say and do. After all, we represent the King.