I really like celebrity chef Anthony Worrall Thompson who was arrested for shoplifting.
He doesn't need the money and can't understand his own actions. He has said he is devastated and that he needs help.
No blaming of anyone else! What a relief! The sin of Adam and Eve led to blaming others. Adam blamed Eve, Eve blamed the serpent, and the serpent didn't have a leg to stand on, as the saying goes. I have long suspected some humour in the blame put on the serpent. After all, how can a snake make us do anything. It is stupid.
That of course is the point. Wrong doing is stupid. Much of the time we regret it afterwards. We don't know why we did it. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Once we realise our fault, we can either cover up and blame others, or we can stop the cycle and take the blame. This is what Anthony Worrall Thompson has done.
We may be surprised that someone like him should break the law. But it is not surprising at all. 'Sin' is stupid. And we are all weak and frail. The 11th commandment for all is 'Do not be found out'.
By now many will be regretting how they have failed to keep new year resolutions. Let's be like him, owning our failings and facing up to them.
He needs help, and so do I, and us all. This is at the heart of Christian faith. It was the Bible that began to make celebrities out of people who had failed. Think of Peter who denied Christ, or of 'doubting Thomas'. By contrast, the pagan world honoured the world of 'gods' who by and large didn't do much good to anyone, and heroes, who were the opposite of weakness. This was a world of 'celebrities'.
We can all turn to Christ, who longs and loves to give his help and forgiveness to all who acknowledge failure and ask for help. The cross on which Christ dies was a very public place. He stands alongside us in our guilt. He stands with us in our weakness, the very opposite of the pagan world.
Thank you Anthony Worrall Thompson for being a real Celebrity; someone I can celebrate.
He doesn't need the money and can't understand his own actions. He has said he is devastated and that he needs help.
No blaming of anyone else! What a relief! The sin of Adam and Eve led to blaming others. Adam blamed Eve, Eve blamed the serpent, and the serpent didn't have a leg to stand on, as the saying goes. I have long suspected some humour in the blame put on the serpent. After all, how can a snake make us do anything. It is stupid.
That of course is the point. Wrong doing is stupid. Much of the time we regret it afterwards. We don't know why we did it. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Once we realise our fault, we can either cover up and blame others, or we can stop the cycle and take the blame. This is what Anthony Worrall Thompson has done.
We may be surprised that someone like him should break the law. But it is not surprising at all. 'Sin' is stupid. And we are all weak and frail. The 11th commandment for all is 'Do not be found out'.
By now many will be regretting how they have failed to keep new year resolutions. Let's be like him, owning our failings and facing up to them.
He needs help, and so do I, and us all. This is at the heart of Christian faith. It was the Bible that began to make celebrities out of people who had failed. Think of Peter who denied Christ, or of 'doubting Thomas'. By contrast, the pagan world honoured the world of 'gods' who by and large didn't do much good to anyone, and heroes, who were the opposite of weakness. This was a world of 'celebrities'.
We can all turn to Christ, who longs and loves to give his help and forgiveness to all who acknowledge failure and ask for help. The cross on which Christ dies was a very public place. He stands alongside us in our guilt. He stands with us in our weakness, the very opposite of the pagan world.
Thank you Anthony Worrall Thompson for being a real Celebrity; someone I can celebrate.
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