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BEING REAL

Being real, doesn’t mean being crude, rude, barbaric or sinful. A few of you are old enough to remember Chuck Barris of the Gong Show fame. Believe it or not, he doesn’t like reality TV because he calls it "too mean-spirited."

"They can say anything they want to say about what I did in the early days, but we rooted for a winner," Barris said. "We hoped the couple (in 'The Dating Game') were happy. 'The Newlywed Game' couple were so thrilled they got their refrigerator. 'The Gong Show' winner got their little check for 140 bucks and 6 cents or whatever. Now people are pleased when certain people are eliminated. It's not so much who won but who lost. We relish their disappointment."

The mean-spirited nature isn’t his only complaint. "I used to joke and say they'll execute somebody on television eventually because it will be a very inexpensive show and it will attract an enormous audience," Barris said. "I was joking, but now I'm starting to wonder."

—http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/01/21/DD153700.DTL Illustration by Jim L. Wilson

I don’t know if reality TV is heading in that direction or not, but I do know that the goal of being real isn’t to follow our depravity to its logical conclusions; it is to recognize our sinfulness and turn from it.

Psalm 24:4-5 NASB “He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. [5] He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his Savior.”

BEING REAL

Britney Spears recently told Biography Magazine, “I’m not the person you see on stage…”

—Biography Magazine, January 2003, p. 76 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson

My first reaction is, I hope not! My second reaction is, why not? Shouldn’t she be the same whether she is on stage or off? Shouldn’t we? A person who is one way on one occasion, and other on another occasion is not worth of our trust, because there is no way to know which person is the real person.

Proverbs 25:19 NLT “Putting confidence in an unreliable person is like chewing with a toothache or walking on a broken foot.”

BEING REAL

It appears that reality TV is taking over the airwaves. In an article for the San Francisco Chronicle, Tim Goodman writes, "The numbers were astounding—more than 18 million people watching ‘Joe Millionaire,’ more than 17 million watching 'The Bachelorette' and 'Star Search.' More than 10 million for 'Celebrity Mole.' Even on the smaller networks, millions more turned up for 'High School Reunion' and 'The Surreal Life.'"

—http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/01/20/DD218432.DTL Illustration by Jim L. Wilson

Personally, I don't know how they can call Joe Millionaire "Reality TV." The whole premise is totally whacked. The producers have Eliza Doolittled a blue-collar guy who is now poising as a millionaire trying to find the woman of his dreams. He hopes she will fall madly in love with him and not notice that their entire relationship is based on deception. Come on, get real, how can he possibly think that a woman who signed up to marry a millionaire won't care about money. Really, it should be called un-reality TV.

But that's the problem with a trying to be real. Did you catch what I just said, TRYING to be real. In a sense, whenever we try to be real, we're not. Instead, we're projecting a reality. It makes us feel self-conscious—like we're on a first date with someone—you know that sudden realization of how loud we chew our food and the panic we feel when we begin to wonder if our date is noticing.

Being real can only happen when we drop the deceptions, pretense, and self-consciousness we protect ourselves with. Being real begins with knowing and admitting who I really am.

I am a sinner. And so are you.

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”