What the Whole Miley Cyrus Thing Really Says

7:36 AMHeather

It would seem that this whole Miley Cyrus debacle from the Video Music Awards is the fodder for gossip and quite the topic of conversation.  I've read several blog posts about it yesterday, in fact.  


I'm not generally a fan of talking about such things ad naseum.  Because, quite honestly, I don't want to give the whole situation more life by keeping it going on and on.  Yet, I feel the need to join in the discussion on this one.   Because the whole thing has a lot that it's really saying.  What I think it's really saying it not even about Miley, actually.

What I think this spectacle has to say is much more about us.  As a nation.  As a society.  As a culture. As a family of believers.  Because we sit back on our high horses and we denounce a girl gone wild.  We mock her and roll our eyes.  We turn away, shielding our eyes from it all--"Unclean!  Unclean!" We laugh at the picture of Will and Jada Smith and their children on the front row of that performance.  Because their reaction is written all over their faces.

But, what's really happening here is we are losing sight of some important things.  First of all, the fact that we have a very real enemy.  He prowls like a lion, seeking to kill, steal and destroy.  He seeks to kill the innocence of youth--both the performer and the audience.  He seeks to steal the spotlight from anything wholesome and good.  He seeks to steal the hearts of men and women who fall prey to temptations of the flesh.  He seeks to destroy families and marriages and anything noble and righteous and just.  He is a liar and the father of lies.  He tells us any attention is good attention.  He tells us fame and fortune bring satisfaction and fulfillment.  

Yet, the prove is in the results.  As yet another young celebrity is teetering toward self-destruction.  

But, that doesn't stop the madness.  People still search for their 15 minutes of fame, the glitz, the glamor, the money. We, as a nation, watch celebrity after celebrity crash and burn under the weight of their fame.  Yet, we still idolize success and achievement and public recognition for ourselves and our children.

Yes, this whole Miley Cyrus thing says a lot about what's really at the root of it all.  It's a battle for souls, y'all.  Not a fight for ratings.  So, the other night, some young girl went crazy on stage with shock and awe and not in a good way.  But, what's really going on is that a young person just acted out what we all wrestle against.  The flesh.  The temporal.  The attention of man. And we lose sight of the eternal.  

What really went on is a young girl is in trouble.  And, to be honest, if I was Robin Thicke's wife, a certain husband would be in trouble, too.  The irony that there are reports of Miley's dad being unfaithful, which caused Miley to erupt in anger on Twitter.  Yet, here she is, playing with fire with a married man herself.

But, I don't blame her, really.  Because the other thing this says about us is that it could happen to anyone.  It's a downward spiral and a slippery slope.  And none of us--no not ONE--are above the dangers lurking.  This didn't happen overnight.  Gradually, this young lady has struggled to the point of what happened this week.  The heart is deceitful above all things.  ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.  

When I think about what this whole thing says about us, I think of the woman caught in adultery.  Who was surrounded by an angry, self-righteous mob, ready to pounce.  As if to divert attention from their own failings because at least they didn't do THAT. 

What did Jesus do?  He reached in to her aid.  He defended her cause.  More than that, He defended her.  He became her advocate with care and compassion.  He saw past her failings to the hurting heart within and offered her eternal hope.  He sent those in judgment away.  To deal with their own failings.

Are we, as believers, the angry mob?  In an uproar about the failings of a misguided young woman, a grown married man who participated, and a network who promoted such behavior?

Will we jeer at her nakedness, as she laid herself bare--not just in her attire--but in her behavior?  Or, are we like Jesus?  Will we come along side and offer a blanket of love to cover her struggles? Will we say, "there but for the grace of God go I."  And in so doing, reach out with grace and hope and reach into the life of someone on a path we don't like.

I'm not suggesting we all go hunt her down to tell her that we can help fix her.

But, I am saying we should be grieved.  For a little girl now lost.  We should be convicted about how dangerous and real our enemy is.  We should be mad at the way our enemy is throwing fiery darts of temptations at our young people.  And we should be honest about how we, too, so often wrestle with temptations.  Maybe not to dance inappropriately to an audience of millions.  No, maybe our shortcomings look different.  We habitually stretch the truth.  Or seek our own agenda.  Or turn a blind eye to the hurting.  

Are we really all so different after all?  Don't we all tend to seek our own fame more readily than to deny ourselves for the sake of His fame?  Don't we all want attention and love and acceptance?  Don't we all struggle?  Aren't we glad our failings and low points are not usually for public consumption?

Listen, bloggy friends.  I'm guilty here when it comes to my initial reaction to this.  And I feel convicted.  So, I'm talking to myself today.  I initially offered a catty comment on someone's Facebook status.  When this topic came up with my sons (who had heard all about it from Instagram and Twitter), I laughed nervously with them at the picture of the Smith family's reactions. Because, I guess, I wanted to affirm that we should be alarmed and not entertained. 

I think we need to revisit this topic in our family.  Because it should be a lesson about extending grace and identifying real need.  A chance to pray for someone hurting.  To storm Heaven's throne room on her behalf.  And on behalf of millions of others who are being lured away by the enemy's deceit.  Selling out for the temporal.  Having lost sight of the eternal.  It's a lesson of the need to be vigilant.  To guard our own hearts.  Our own eyes.  Our own lives.  To make things like modesty and the health of our marriages and families something we work hard to maintain.  And shore ourselves up, day after day after day, with the freeing truth of the Word.  And the power of prayer.   

May we all learn from this.  May we all shift our focus from being entertained to being empathic.  From being shocked by man's depravity to being in awe of God's incredible grace.  From leering at a half-clothed girl unraveling and wandering to bowing to our knees to cover her in prayer.  May we all take the opportunity here to stop and reflect.  What does this whole Miley Cyrus thing really say about me?  What does my response say?  How would Jesus have me handle such things?  What dangers exist--for both the audience and the object--when a generation idolizes a person?  When we seek fulfillment and satisfaction in anything other than the Creator of our Souls?  

There but for the grace of God go I.  Self-destruction is but one small step away.  God alone is our saving grace.  Instead of gawking at the ugliness...as our guest preacher said on Sunday--how about we get out there and reach into it?  That is the beauty of putting our hands and our feet to share the gospel story.

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