Life imitates art

think of your favorite television shows.   current or in the past.

csi miami…law and order…grey’s anatomy…the office…criminal minds…ncis…the big bang theory…desperate housewives …the batchelor…modern family…all the different reality shows.

honestly,  it pretty much doesn’t matter which shows you choose.   comedy or drama.   now or 25 years ago.   cable or network.   they all share something in common.

on television,  people go through the most difficult moments of life…without god.

oh,  maybe there’s a token prayer by the resident spiritual kook.   or a heartless nod or a wink in the direction of some spiritual advisor or holy man.   but nothing more.

people  (on TV) are left to fend for themselves.   to figure out their own problems.   to get through tragedies by their own resources.   to wander through sadness,  defeat,  fear,  difficulties,  darkness,  separation,  loneliness,  and despair…by their own strength and will power.

and for the characters on most television shows,  there almost always seems to be a happy ending after thirty or sixty minutes.   they make quick decisions and answers to problems are always just within their grasp.   even the most crushing experiences of life seem to just work themselves out.

i suppose that’s why i enjoy watching some TV.   in a real life full of trouble and disappointment,  i think i like moments of fantasy quick fixes where everything works out in the end.   even if it is without god.

but the trouble is that life mirrors art.   my real world is full of people who plow through life by their own power.   even people who say they believe in the power and love of god.   it seems like they are fighting everyday with everything they have just to get through the mess.

a hand-full find some success.   most just drift in and out of emptiness and tread water in the deep end of the endless cycle of failure.   they have heard about the infinite grace of god and the potential of relief and power over sin and darkness and hopelessness,  but just don’t know how or where to go to walk in redemption.

and although i know that walk  personally,  often my words come up hollow and empty to the fellow-wanderers i rub elbows with.   but i don’t stop trying.

and neither should you.

#art #life #television #trouble