Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Things to Learn from Brit Hume



I do want to get back to the series on apologetics eventually but please allow me to go on a different topic for yet another week. It is rare for a respected person in the media to speak as boldly as Brit Hume in the above clips. Yes there are examples such as Tim Tebow and Stephen Baldwin but often times they simply become new faces of the Christian sub-culture. I don’t want to take anything away from these men, especially Tebow for whom I have much respect despite him being an SEC rival of my beloved Hogs. However, they are both known more because of what they do as an expression of coming from a Christian sub-culture (conservative politics, John 3:16 eye black, the term “God bless”, etc…) whereas Brit Hume addressed a man’s need for a savior and expressed his belief that Christianity is the only religion with a genuine offer of that savior.

I am grateful for what Mr. Hume did and for what appears to be fruit in his life. I only hope that he doesn’t become the next evangelical celebrity. I hope he isn’t asked to speak on the topic of boldness at Liberty, go on TBC, or have a daily segment on K-Love. I hope we don’t try to turn him into an expert in theology or apologetics. Most of all, I hope production hasn’t already started on a line of “Brit Hume is my homeboy” T-shirts.

The fact is that this is that Brit Hume is a man who can serve Christians as an example. He is an example of a man who gave up a good career so he could have more time pursuing his faith. In addition to his desire to spend more time with family, he wanted to spend more time in God’s word. Furthermore, he is applying the things he has learned to his new job as an analyst. I hope he realizes that his expertise in politics gives him a rare opportunity to bring Christ to the lost.

So instead of making Brit Hume into one more evangelical celebrity, let’s follow his example. Personally, I am convicted of my own desire to study Scripture. Would I leave such a well paying, respectable career to pursue my faith? Would I then give up the rest of the world’s respect for me to proclaim that Christ is the only savior of the world? I hope so, but I am grateful to Mr. Hume for making me think about it.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen