Everybody seems to be talking about Miley's performance on the MTV VMA Awards show. If you missed it, that's okay. I'll save you the need for brain bleach by summarizing that she danced provocatively with teddy bears, singer Robin Thicke, and a foam finger. She sang about a house party. She twerked. She stuck out her tongue a lot. That's about all there was to it.
Yet Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, the blogosphere, and just about every news outlet lit up with shock and dismay, as if there was a major worldwide crisis.
"She's trying too hard," some lamented. "What happened to that sweet, innocent Hannah Montana girl?" they asked. "This is what a talented young lady is doing to celebrate the freedom of her youth?" they complained. "Why does she feel the need to sexualize her image?!?" they hollered. Everybody had something to say about Miley. I thought about what I would say, if I were asked. But I drew a major blank. It seems that just this once, I have no opinion. But, I have an opinion about my lack of opinion… here it is:
"What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun." —Ecclesiastes 1:9
there is nothing new under the sun." —Ecclesiastes 1:9
Miley's performance is nothing new. It's not shocking to me. it hasn't caught me off guard. It's about what I'd expect from an American twenty-something who has grown up privileged, yet under the thumb of tight restrictions on her image and behavior. It's about what I'd expect from someone who's been under the strain of a shaky engagement that could end any day, and feels she has something to prove. And she's certainly not the first person who's ever professed faith in Jesus and then consistently behaved and spoken in ways contrary to Scripture.
Jesus himself talked about this very situation…
He told the parable of the sower, found in Matthew 13. Verses 5-6 tell of seeds that "fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root." He goes on to explain in verses 20-21: "The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away."
Miley spoke openly like a Christian early in her career, and was baptized in 2005. She even stated in 2010, "I am a Christian. Jesus is who saved me. He’s what keeps me full and whole." Sounds encouraging until you hear what she said right after that: "But everyone is entitled to what they believe and what keeps them full. Hopefully, I can influence people and help them follow the same path I am on, but it is not my job to tell people what they are doing wrong.”
Yes, I suppose everyone's entitled.
But I'm already detecting a bit of a problem in her statements, even back then. Jesus said that he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through him. (John 14:6) Miley continued to oppose Scripture by tweeting support for gay marriage and even the Big Bang Theory, in one highly controversial tweet that featured this quote from theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss: "All the things that matter for evolution weren't created at the beginning of time, they were created in stars. So forget Jesus. Stars died so you could live." To this, Miley commented, "Beautiful."
Jesus saw this coming when he told that parable.
Does Jesus still love Miley Cyrus? Absolutely. Do I have even the remotest right to cast judgment on her? Nope. Is she really a true Christian? Only God knows. Is it really any of my blessed business? Hmmm… nope.
I'm going to wrap these thoughts with two really good ideas to remember. One's from Miley herself, and the other's from Scripture:
"My job first is to entertain and do what I love, and if you don’t like it, then change the channel. I’m not forcing you to watch me. I’m not forcing you to talk about me. I would do that pole dance a thousand times again, because it was right for the song and that performance. But, dude, if you think [that dance] is bad, then go check what 90% of the high schoolers are really up to." —Miley Cyrus, 2010 interview with Parade
And that, my friends, is why I have no opinion.
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