Let me introduce you to someone I hardly know. He's a quasi-famous internet guy...well, if YouTube counts anyway. Matt Harding is in many ways a "loser." A college dropout, no "real" job to speak of, lives with his girlfriend out west somewhere.
A few years ago, Matt made a video. The story goes something like this - he was traveling around the world with friends, and one of his friends suggested he do that dumb dance he does, and he'd record it. The idea took hold, and Matt was recorded doing his dance in over 70 countries. The result is a video that has swept the internet, and was noticed by Stride gum. (They later hired Matt to make a more professional video for them.) It was also noticed by average people - moms and dads, husbands and wives, everyday people who watched this guy - this BUM - doing this ridiculous dance all around the world.
And a weird thing started to happen. People began to smile. And go blind. Skin color got lost behind the laughter and stunning scenery from some of the most beautiful places in the world. We lost some of our self righteous pride, arrogance gave way to amusement. This man - this nobody - gave us permission to let down our walls, to see each other as HUMAN BEINGS.
I don't know the first thing about Matt Harding personally. I couldn't tell you if he's a believer in Jesus or Buddah or Mickey Mouse. And frankly. . .I don't care. What I do care about is the fact that he was able to depict nations and peoples and races as ONE RACE - the Human race. All in the course of FOUR MINUTES. Unbelievable. . .
A man I deeply respect once told me that he was not a Christian. It dang near broke my heart. Not because it was true, but because he had seen such a BROKEN side of the church that he couldn't find himself in any of it's teachings. He loved Jesus, served his brothers and sisters, and lived his life according to biblical principals. Yet he considered himself a humanitarian more than a Christian. When did we divide the two? At point did Jesus Christ cease to be a humanitarian? Because if I'm reading the story correctly, He was the ULTIMATE humanitarian - giving His life for another, for the hope of a future, for the promsie of life eternal. When did the blood spilled at Calvary become salvation ONLY for those deserving of it? When did God give us the right to decide who is deserving of our humanitarian efforts and who is not? When did the rules change?
My eyes welled up with tears as I watched Matt dance with pot-bellied children in Mali; when he gracefully executed dance moves with the beautiful daughters of India; when he celebrated in Chicago, IL and when he stood alone in the majesty of the green hills of Ireland. Embraced in a crowd and standing alone - this man brought a world together through the simplicity of a stupid dance. We are all human beings - created by a loving God.
All of us; black, white, Indian, African, British, Irish, Scottish, straight, gay, Buddist, Muslim, Catholic, and so on and so on. Each of us created in HIS image. He made us all so differently, but rather than embracing our uniqueness we have allowed ourselves to create elitism out of our differences. Rather than reconciliation, we war. Rather than the human race. . .we have separated and segragated ourselves into clubs and schools and countries and even churches, where we believe WE are right and everyone else is wrong.
I was so fortunate to be raised by grandparents who embraced the simplest principles of God - love your neighbor as yourself.
I bet my grandfather would have been right alongside Matt - doing his own happy dance.
A few years ago, Matt made a video. The story goes something like this - he was traveling around the world with friends, and one of his friends suggested he do that dumb dance he does, and he'd record it. The idea took hold, and Matt was recorded doing his dance in over 70 countries. The result is a video that has swept the internet, and was noticed by Stride gum. (They later hired Matt to make a more professional video for them.) It was also noticed by average people - moms and dads, husbands and wives, everyday people who watched this guy - this BUM - doing this ridiculous dance all around the world.
And a weird thing started to happen. People began to smile. And go blind. Skin color got lost behind the laughter and stunning scenery from some of the most beautiful places in the world. We lost some of our self righteous pride, arrogance gave way to amusement. This man - this nobody - gave us permission to let down our walls, to see each other as HUMAN BEINGS.
I don't know the first thing about Matt Harding personally. I couldn't tell you if he's a believer in Jesus or Buddah or Mickey Mouse. And frankly. . .I don't care. What I do care about is the fact that he was able to depict nations and peoples and races as ONE RACE - the Human race. All in the course of FOUR MINUTES. Unbelievable. . .
A man I deeply respect once told me that he was not a Christian. It dang near broke my heart. Not because it was true, but because he had seen such a BROKEN side of the church that he couldn't find himself in any of it's teachings. He loved Jesus, served his brothers and sisters, and lived his life according to biblical principals. Yet he considered himself a humanitarian more than a Christian. When did we divide the two? At point did Jesus Christ cease to be a humanitarian? Because if I'm reading the story correctly, He was the ULTIMATE humanitarian - giving His life for another, for the hope of a future, for the promsie of life eternal. When did the blood spilled at Calvary become salvation ONLY for those deserving of it? When did God give us the right to decide who is deserving of our humanitarian efforts and who is not? When did the rules change?
My eyes welled up with tears as I watched Matt dance with pot-bellied children in Mali; when he gracefully executed dance moves with the beautiful daughters of India; when he celebrated in Chicago, IL and when he stood alone in the majesty of the green hills of Ireland. Embraced in a crowd and standing alone - this man brought a world together through the simplicity of a stupid dance. We are all human beings - created by a loving God.
All of us; black, white, Indian, African, British, Irish, Scottish, straight, gay, Buddist, Muslim, Catholic, and so on and so on. Each of us created in HIS image. He made us all so differently, but rather than embracing our uniqueness we have allowed ourselves to create elitism out of our differences. Rather than reconciliation, we war. Rather than the human race. . .we have separated and segragated ourselves into clubs and schools and countries and even churches, where we believe WE are right and everyone else is wrong.
I was so fortunate to be raised by grandparents who embraced the simplest principles of God - love your neighbor as yourself.
I bet my grandfather would have been right alongside Matt - doing his own happy dance.
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