جارٍ تحميل الأرشيف الحي.
Redefining Christian Living in Entertainment and Fashion
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Before I gave my life to Christ, I used to sag my trousers. I'm not saying sagging is a sin, but after I became a Christian, something shifted within me—not because someone preached at me about it, but because a life came with Christianity.
There is a life that comes with the gospel, a noble life from within. It makes you considerate. It makes you modest. It makes you calm. It makes you want to hear others. Christianity itself makes you cool in the deepest sense.
Many people say that being a Christian and working in sectors like music and fashion is difficult. Some worry that if they pursue fame in these industries, they'll have to compromise their faith. But this concern reveals a misunderstanding about what it means to be Christian.
You can absolutely be a Christian and be a fashionista. You can be a Christian in the music industry. I know secular musicians—people who don't claim faith—who constantly reach out to ask me questions about scripture and Jesus. Many actors ask similar questions. The key is this: there is nothing like a "Christian banker" or "Christian entertainer." You are a Christian, and then you bring Christian values into what you do.
The Bible says, "Whatsoever thy hand finds to do, do it." God didn't call people in Scripture to specific "Christian" professions. A farmer, a doctor, a musician—these are all vocations where you live out your faith. You should pursue your dream with the help of the Spirit, keeping in mind that you are a Christian and you understand Christian values.
I don't expect that just because you're an actor, every role must be explicitly religious. You can do wonderful, beautiful movies. Your acting is your job, just like a banker or doctor has a job. You should be able to pursue your dream.
The gospel itself is secular—it's for the world. You preach the gospel to the world and explain it in church so believers can go out and preach to the world. Everything about the message of Jesus is outward-facing. Even signs and wonders and miracles are meant to point people to Jesus, not to impress the church.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.
In Greek, "world" is cosmos—the evil system of this world. God loves it enough to send His Son to redeem it. Read Revelation: "The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our God and his Christ." The gospel must be secular in reach. People must think spiritually, not religiously, and allow their light to shine before men so that they may glorify the Father in heaven.
I know an influencer who gave her life to Christ and didn't know what to do. She asked, "Should I close down my page?" I said, "Let's experiment."
My perspective on popularity is unusual. The idea isn't to be popular—even the devil is popular. The idea is to use influence for what you believe. It's a trust that God gives people. You're supposed to steward it carefully.
Consider this: everybody does ads, but not everybody is known. People talk well, but that alone doesn't make them famous. I believe there's an election of grace—something spiritual. What I mean is that if a popular person were doing something else, they would likely still be popular doing that other thing. Influence is a divine trust.
Some people say that being a Christian means you lose your fun side. That's not true. Christianity helps you be a better version of yourself.
God didn't change Paul; He changed his direction. Paul was already zealous and ambitious. God redirected that same zeal toward His kingdom. If you're a fun person, have fun the Christian way.
Fun is relative. For me, fun is being in good company. If you were a party person before giving your life to Christ, you might have gone to clubs to dance and drink and meet new people. Now ask yourself: was it the dancing and drinking, or was it being with people you like?
If it was about community and connection, then start a cell fellowship in your home. Tell your pastor you want to start a cell group. Give people an opportunity to connect. You'll do it much better than many because you understand what fun looks like.
Look at the early church. Christianity spread partly because the message was first accepted by poor people, and Christianity gave inclusion. They went house to house breaking bread. People liked the community so much that everyone was selling their possessions to join. Every day was a party—you'd eat at my house, I'd eat at yours. People weren't even working; that was their job.
Part of Christian life is community. Part of Christian life is the joy of being together.
So invite people to your house. Do Christian karaoke. Have drinks. Just adapt and do it in a godly, decent, reasonable way. You can be a Christian and still be a fun person.
My concern now is that we don't take this to the extreme where you can't even tell the difference between a Christian and a worldly person.
I see people at the gym in tight clothes—gym clothes, understandable. But then your chest is showing, your stomach is showing, and you're saying "I have decided." No, you haven't decided correctly. If we don't make the line, we'll blow the line. The idea is to be Christians having fun, not Christians trying to convince people we're having fun.
It's like this: only a poor product requires you to beg people to buy it. We're not marketing Jesus. He's good. If you taste, you'll see that He is good.
There's a saying: if you want to catch a monkey, you have to behave like a monkey. But I've never seen a monkey catch a monkey. You have to be different. There must be a distinction. Don't be commercial with Christianity. Live the life of Christ. Then when people ask, "Are you a Christian?" it will be obvious.
Christianity is trendy now, especially in the US. People say, "I'm a Christian, I gave my life to Christ," and everyone says, "Cool." But are you really living that life? Do you know what it entails? It's not just for likes or because celebrities say it's cool.
What can we do about this? Number one: understand that we are stewards. If God gives us a voice, we must steward it properly. That means we ourselves must live what we're preaching. Just imagine a pastor recording an Instagram video with worldly background music and posting it. The message you send is: "If the pastor can do it, why can't I?"
Number two: talk about it in a prescriptive way, not a critical way. A fool sees the problem; wisdom prescribes the solution. Don't condemn people. Some don't know better. And don't give someone an exam if you didn't teach them—they'll fail. Give people room to grow. Help them on the journey.
So reflect the life you're preaching, and correct in love.
I experienced something that made this real for me. Someone very close to me was having a pool party. I'm a pastor. Five years ago, I would have struggled with that situation. But I had to be clear about my boundaries.
In Dubai, they have a boundary: you cannot hold a woman on the road, and yet Dubai is a major tourist destination. What this teaches us is that when you have boundaries, people respect them and accommodate you. If I tell my friends, "I don't drink," they say, "Okay, we know you don't drink." That's a boundary.
You can draw lines and say, "I don't do this, I don't do this, I don't do this." Then you can relate with people—you have what I call contact without contamination.
So how do you know when you've crossed from being a cool Christian to being conformed to the world? When you start liking what they like. When you start desiring their life. When the desires of the ungodly become your desires. You look at them and want their life, want what they want, want it how they want it. Then you know you're being influenced.
Also, read the room. If they're not changing, you are probably changing. That's how power works.
Imagine four people in a room. Without any discussion or election, someone will emerge as the leader. You'll notice: this person always picks what you watch. They give the direction. They don't even try—influence just tilts toward them.
If you're not changing them, they're changing you. That's the truth. If you notice they're not saying, "Let's not do this today," you know you're being carried along.
Can you influence a culture without being influenced by it? This requires clarity of purpose and you cannot do it alone.
Look at Numbers 13. God promised Israel the promised land. Before entering, Moses sent 12 spies to scout it. They came back with fruit from the land as evidence of what it could be. Then they had a strategic meeting about how to take the land. This is the pattern for influence.
When you sense God calling you to shine light in politics, entertainment, or any sphere, first spy the land. Check it out. Come back with fruit—initial success, understanding. Then you'll have two reports:
If you choose the first report, God won't move. If you choose the second, God will give you the land. But He will bring people to go with you. You cannot influence a culture as an individual. You need an army.
Now comes the real issue: whoever leads an army faces a problem. If you're taking a mountain, somebody must be on top, somebody at the bottom. The question is: who wants to be at the bottom? A lot of Christians have not learned to collaborate. We play light against light instead of against darkness.
Look at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Their power was in their number. If only Shadrach faced the fiery furnace alone, maybe he'd reconsider. But together, they said, "If we die, we die. We go." That small mutual voice—just one person saying, "We can do this"—gingers you up.
Christians must learn to collaborate. Everyone cannot be at the top. The idea is to win. And if we're winning, we bring glory to God.
Demon collaborate. Jesus said when a demon leaves someone, it goes and comes back with seven more, saying, "Come help me destroy this land." But Christians? We compete. We hold back. Demons collaborate; we are competitive. Some of us won't push to do anything in life unless our friends aren't doing better. We wake up when others prosper. There's so much self-centeredness to overcome.
But God will help us. That's our work.
