As I wrote on Thursday about actor Johnny Depp’s comments on cancel culture, there are some within the Hollywood elite — or “Hollyweird,” if you will — that occasionally will say some things that resonate with the average person because it seems authentic. But, that’s that exception, not the rule.
However, there are people like legendary actor Denzel Washington who have spoken opposite the typical narratives we get from Hollywood. Washington has been more outspoken about his beliefs in recent years, because he’s already had an amazing career that the establishment can’t take away from him.
In a “sit-down discussion,” as The Christian Post put it, during “The Better Man Event” in Orlando, Florida last Saturday, Washington spoke about his Christian beliefs and how they are guiding him through the latter portion of his life.
In speaking of what God says to him when he prays, Washington spoke about being a better shepherd of both his family and fellow man.
“At 66, getting ready to be 67, having just buried my mother, I made a promise to her and to God, not just to do good the right way, but to honor my mother and my father by the way I live my life, the rest of my days on this Earth,” Washington told senior pastor of the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, New York, Pastor A.R. Bernard. “I'm here to serve, to help, to provide.”
“In every prayer, all I hear is: 'Feed my sheep.' That's what God wants me to do,” Washington said.
Through his Christian beliefs, Washington spoke of what it is to be a man in this society that denigrates masculinity at every turn.
“The world has changed. What is our role as a man?” Washington asked before answering his own question. “The John Wayne formula is not quite a fit right now. But strength, leadership, power, authority, guidance, patience are God's gift to us as men. We have to cherish that, not abuse it.”
Amen! It’s okay to have and promote the qualities that Washington listed, despite the media and societal push to present those qualities as negatives. But, it’s how you use those qualities to improve your fellow man that matters.
Washington also said something even more profound that should speak to the common person.
“Stay on your knees. Watch me, but listen to God,” Washington said. “I hope that the words in my mouth and the meditation of my heart are pleasing in God's sight, but I'm human. I'm just like you. What I have will not keep me on this Earth for one more day. Share what you know, inspire who you can, seek advice. If you want to talk to one someone, talk to the one that can do something about it. Constantly develop those habits.”
Absolutely. People need to quit acting like they’re entitled to whatever it may be in life and understand that man is fallible — know that you don’t know everything. Strive to be a better person. God will provide you the path, but understand that it’s a very difficult road to get there and it takes work.
For context, “The Better Man Event” is Christianity-based “global men’s event that has been encouraging, equipping & engaging tens of thousands of men to be better friends, students, co-workers, brothers, fathers and husbands,” according to the event’s website.
H/T: The Blaze