A New Season

You Never Know Until You Try.

Like many Americans, I looked forward to the new fall television season. I especially wanted to see the Hawaii Five-0 reboot. I still love the original; it was a good show and it brings back memories of my long-dead grandmother, who adored “Steve McGarrett.” As a fan of the
original and as a huge Alex O’Loughlin fan, I was practically panting with anticipation. I watched the premiere and loved it; I hope it enjoys a long, successful run.

Amid all the new season mania this week, mine included, I started to compare the attention we give to our favorite celebrities with the attention we give to God. Do we pant for Him as ardently as we do for them? David says in Psalm 42:1, “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.” That’s how it should be, but is it? Maybe our souls pant for Him, but our minds are elsewhere, like on who’s headed for rehab, who has a new movie out, or who’s supposedly sleeping with whom.

We certainly have plenty of stories about celebrities—look at the grocery store check-out area, and you’ll see tabloids galore; turn on the television, and you can watch “Extra,” “Entertainment Tonight,” and a number of other shows dedicated to keeping us informed on the comings and goings of entertainers. Celebrity watching has its place, but it seems that we too often neglect to give God the same interest. We devour the latest tabloid but neglect to read the Bible lying on the shelf. Determined to miss not one single minute of a broadcast, we faithfully DVR the latest episode of some crime drama, soap opera, or reality show, but we fail to attend worship services week after week. I think most of us are guilty of these actions at one time or another.

The good thing is that God is always there, just waiting for us to show an interest in Him. Lamentations 3:22-23 tells us that God’s compassions don’t fail and are new every morning. He makes all things new (Revelation 21:5). All we have to do is ask, and He forgives our sins, heals our wounds. That’s better than even a new television season.