Dancing with Chaz Bono

The cries of Christian protest have begun against Dancing with the Stars because of its choice to have Chaz Bono as a contestant. (Obviously DWTS' quest for buzz and higher ratings is a bust, right?) I'm not sure what a boycott does except cause some to feel guilty about watching a show they enjoy and for those outside the Church to say "good riddance, who needs them anyway".

Thing is, I think that Chaz Bono has done in a physical way what many, many people in our churches do in a spiritual way every week. There is this concept that the journey with God starts with the stuff on the outside. So, after we begin with faith in Christ, we grab hold of the reigns and begin the have-to's and the should-not's and make ourselves look the part. We construct a Christian identity that has little to actually do with Christ.

As if changing the outside will make our inner world more aligned with God's heart.

Chaz Bono did the same thing. Her inner world was a struggle, having no peace, feeling like the inside and outside didn't match. So she did what we should expect someone without the hope of Christ to do, she tried to fix herself. She (along with a team of doctors) changed the outside. Created a new identity; from Chastity to Chaz. Hoping that when the outside was 'fixed' that change would happen inside as well.

She attempted to create her own hope, which is no different than what any of the rest of us did before we knew who Christ was. Then we tried to feel less broken by wearing the right clothes, having the right friends, enough money, or just drinking a lot of beer.

It is also no different than the religious act that a lot of people in our churches are still pursuing. Avoiding confronting the brokenness by being involved in enough church activities, using the right language, or just drinking a lot of beer.

Masks abound in church. Identities created, not on the foundation of Christ, but on the shifting sand of the false self. The effect is that not only do we not allow ourselves to be known by each other, but we avoid being known by God.

Whatever was broken with Chaz before surgery is still broken after. Whatever was broken in you while you were single is still broken after you're married. Whatever was broken when you were sober is still broken when you're drunk. Whatever was broken in you before serving the poor will still be broken after. There is only one cure for the brokenness that we experience as this world and its systems and disappointments gang up on us.

We must allow the light of Christ to shine in our darkened souls. Letting our significance be found in Him. Discovering our identity in the rock of the Gospel. Experiencing restoration as sons and daughters of the King.