Think for yourself!

“Take the risk of thinking for yourself , much more happiness , truth, beauty, and wisdom will come to you that way ..” Christopher Hitchens

I do not understand why people today (worldwide) allow celebrities to dictate or even influence what they should believe, do, eat, wear and even who they should vote for. 

It was obvious the influence celebrities TRIED to have on the 2016 elections in the United States.  A lot of people allowed celebrities to influence their vote.  If you are a celebrity in the Philippines it is almost a guarantee you can win any political position you seek.  Your fame will outweigh your  need for the right qualifications nearly every time.

If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask a celebrity, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly their opinions on life, and they are more than happy to give it to you freely.  I say this sarcastically.

I know I may seem a bit weird or a lot weird to some, but what celebrities think or say have never made me feel happy, content, hopeful, encouraged, or confident.  No I do not know the name of the MOVIE STAR in the latest movies I have seen and do not care to know.  All I care is did I like the movie or not. 

I do not care what these people think, none of whom I know personally, and all of whom live in a world that is so far out of my reach that we have remarkably little in common. If I and one of their domestic staff met in church or any public place I  would have more in common with their staff member than I would the celebrity.

The same is true of CELEBRITY preachers today.  I am not impressed or focusing  on the prophets and teachers and evangelists that millions of Christians come to follow, and worship, as being wiser, more righteous, and blessed than the rest of us.  I have actually have had people tell me, “They’re rich and well-known so that must be a sure sign of God’s favor.”  No, they just  have a charismatic personality and would be good at selling anything and they would make good con artist.  It could have come from the devil or God.  I have always believed this, but recently when Bishop Jake of Potter House in Dallas, Texas said in an interview that “SELLING Jesus is not all that difficult because it is a GOOD PRODUCT and when presented correctly it will SELL ITSELF.”  I take that to mean hurting and desperate people will fall for a line of hope every time if you are charismatic and have sales abilities.

When the Great Christians Leaders give their opinions on homosexuality, people listen, nod their heads, and say, “Prophet Pulpit said it, so it must be right.” When they promote boycotting a store, the believers do it because their Prophet Pulpit is always right.  After all who am I to question Prophet's? When sensible preachers meet with ecumenical leaders to share in a prayer service, some Christians wring their hands, wondering, “Why do they  do this? Pastor Pulpit said it was wrong. Do they not know that Catholics and Evangelical Protestants differ on fundamental issues? and that Jewish people and Christians differ on a REALLY major issue?

The followers of celebrity Christians do not have enough faith in God or confidence in himself to seek wisdom, considering themselves spiritually unqualified to process the tough issues facing people who live in the world today, after all that is what they have been told from the pulpit by these celebrity preachers.  They think if they do not listen to the celebrity preachers and priest they only have mass-media to give them direction in the 21st century.   What about the HOLY SPIRIT, PRAYER, the brain God gave them and their own personal experiences.

God did not call us to be robots of celebrities.   The world is filled, and has always been filled, and will always be filled with difficult issues — difficult because they involve people — and no smart little saying on television, Tweet, or email from any CELEBRITY is going to solve the world’s problems and we certainly should not allow them to think for us.  Some allow others to think for them because they are lazy and it is the easy way to avoid responsibilities.  Simply put not everyone wants to be wise. We actually have to work at becoming wise.

People need wisdom, and wisdom — unlike money, power, celebrity status, and fame is not out of reach of ordinary people. Wisdom is available for the asking, if we only would ask.  You do not have to be a genius to have wisdom.  I know lots of people with extremely high I.Q.’s that lack in wisdom (common sense) and others with little to no formal education that are VERY wise.  Wisdom and understanding are not something you purchase with tuition and class fees, it is a daily, lifelong process of growth.

I have a friend that constantly puts himself down because he looks for the possible negatives in relationships, decisions in general and especially business deals.  I think that is wise.  It means to me he is dealing with reality.  It does not mean he is ignoring the positives, it is only means he is trying to prepare or prevent the negatives.  Being a “happy go lucky” person is not wisdom.  Wisdom means being able to bear the good and the bad in mind simultaneously.

Proverbs 3:13 says, "Happy is the man (or woman) who finds wisdom and the man (or woman) who gets understanding." Proverbs 24:13–14 says, "My son (daughter), eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste. Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off." Proverbs 16:16, "To get wisdom is better than gold; to get understanding is to be chosen over silver." It is a matter of life and death.  The ultimate, eternal happiness that all people long for will only be found by those who first "get wisdom."

Wise people do not let others do their thinking and make their decision.  They listen to all advice and then seek guidance from the Holy Spirit and make their own decision.