Fame! and other analogies

Okay so at the movies I saw a preview for the remake of Fame and I am so incredible excited. I realized the other day that I talk about dance so much that most people probably think I lived at my studio. And while I can proudly call myself a studio brat, it was not my life. I spent so many years trying to make it my life, but in all honesty, school was my life. My parents made sure of that. But boy I saw that pursuit- a common dream. FAME. I had it in me, but not the way other girls did. I sorta just teetered on the lines. Professional dancers have been known to do everything from crash diet and binging and purging to repeatedly dislocating joints or intentionally breaking bones in their feet in order to gain more flexibility.
Sick nasty.

I never went that far. And thankfully, nobody I knew flirted with breaking bones or anything that serious. I never even saw any eating disorders that went unrecognized for too long. But there was still that drive. The drive to be the best. In the dance world, all respect is earned. You can only get by so far with connections. True, some people are just born talented, but things like musicality, stage presence, the ability to improvise, and the drive to do your best in the face of certain failure are not innate. If you don't make the cut you don't rise. You EARN every single thing you get.

How UNLIKE Jesus. You can't EARN anything from God. You can't EARN his love or his grace or his mercy. You ALREADY have it. So stop trying. That was my message in church this morning.

When we try and earn something from God, we automatically set ourselves up for failure. Earning something is so complicated nowadays that we are sure to fail along the way. We work so hard at everything around us determined to earn trophies. Something to show for our hard work. I am guilty. I guard my dance ribbons, medals, plaques, and trophies as some of my most valued possessions. But they mean NOTHING. This is my favorite quote from this morning.

"We spend our entire lives building a throne. Our accomplishments make it bigger and bigger, higher and higher. The problem is, the higher we sit on our throne, the further away we are from the place we need most to be- the feet of Jesus."

So. Don't build your throne. Break it down.

"Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."
Luke 7:44-47