WACKY WEDNESDAY WISDOM: Super Bowl Platforms

     Like most red-blooded Americans, I tuned in to the Super Bowl a few days ago. It's so much more than a football contest these days, what with the hype, the commercials, and the entertainment surrounding it. But this year, I was particularly interested in the game itself, which did not disappoint. My primary motivation to tune in was a young, swashbuckling quarterback whose pregame ritual includes time in prayer near the goalpost asking that His Father in Heaven be glorified regardless of the outcome. After his pregame prayer, said quarterback then proceeded to lead his team to a dramatic comeback victory as he took home MVP honors. Refreshing.
     The commercials were particularly entertaining this year. In recent years I felt they were less than advertised (no pun intended . . . okay pun intended). Between an exciting game and the anticipation of the next great ad, I was hardly able to move from the couch for an extra slice of pizza or a potty break.
     But the thing most folks on television were talking about the day after the Super Bowl was the halftime show. Twitter lit up with tweets praising Jennifer Lopez and Sharika's performance as dazzling, adventurous, earth shattering, ground breaking, and trailblazing. Along with their dancers, J-Lo and Sharika not only sang, but also twisted, bobbed, weaved, gyrated, and strutted for the duration of the performance. Apparently the world loved it.
     Me? Not so much. And I've discovered a few others who weren't that impressed either. Let me be clear here. Even though their kind of music isn't really my thing, my objections have nothing to do with them entertaining the world with their brand. I respect and enjoy many types of music and always have. So I have a problem with neither their gender, their heritage, their cultural influences, their charisma, nor their music.
     My issue was their platform. Not the physical platform (stage) on which they performed, but the one on which they stood as performers tasked with entertaining an entire nation, if not the world. The Super Bowl is one of the most viewed television events every year- seen not just by avid football fans, but by men and women of all ages, by children young and old. By dogs, cats, pretty much anything that has eyes.
     And those impressionable eyes, witnessed two entertainers perform body movements that would make a sailor blush. Then why did I watch, you might ask. After a few minutes, I was asking myself the same thing. Perhaps I felt I needed to watch to be able to explain my objections. ("Sure", you may say, "You just wanted to see the scantily clad dancers").
     I can assure you that was not the case. I really just wanted to keep an accurate count of how many times J-Lo grabbed herself in a sensitive area. And when Sharika mounted a stripper pole, I was praying there wouldn't be a wardrobe malfunction like there was in 2004.
    The mistake I believe they made was a misunderstanding of their audience, which led to a miscalculation of their opportunity. Instead of appealing to a broad base, they further divided an already divided country into camps- those who loved their type of sensual expression and those who loathed it.
     The Bible says in Philippians 4:8- "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think on these things". My fear is that the hearts and minds of lots of folks weren't conjuring up pure and praiseworthy images during the performance, which isn't all J-Lo and Sharika's fault.
     They are fantastic performers. I'm sure they are caring, loving people from what I read. And maybe it wasn't their responsibility to use their platform to bring honor and glory to the Lord during their halftime performance. It was their right to choose. Fortunately the quarterback had the same platform and the same choice. And to him I say- Well done good and faithful servant. Good show.