Kids—and adults too—tend to gobble up information about celebrities. You follow your favorite stars on the Internet, news, TV, and magazines. You imitate them, dress like them, and do your hair the same way. You’ll gladly buy whatever shoes or clothes they advertise and whatever music they make.
It’s okay to have role models, if you choose the right ones. The problem comes when you choose to spend your money to imitate celebrities who flaunt their bad behavior—getting drunk, crashing their cars, being obnoxious, and treating other people poorly.
God has an opinion on that. “Dear friend, never imitate evil, but imitate good. The person who does good is from God. The person who does evil has never seen God” (3 John 1:11).
Celebrities don’t, and probably never will, know who you are. Be careful how much influence you let them have in your life. Imitate those who are kind, who serve others, who treat people well, who use their fame to tell the story of Jesus. Don’t waste your time on those who set a bad example for you, tempting you to do evil.
As this psalm reminds us, “Do not trust influential people, mortals who cannot help you. When they breathe their last breath, they return to the ground. On that day their plans come to an end” (Psalm 146:3,4).
Chomp on this!
Which celebrities do you like? What have you heard or seen about their behavior?
How do you pick role models?
