Put God first

This writer is generally loathe to comment on the experiences of celebrities who go public with their stories of faith.

In the 15 years penning this column for the Southeast Missourian, my memory is only once has an entertainer's faith postulations made it into this space.

(Longtime readers may find more examples and if this is the case, apologies all around.)

Some weeks ago, the late comedian Norm MacDonald was spotlighted by me.

In my defense, intermingled with praise for the Canadian there was also an acknowledgment of the funny man's missteps in the column.

This is prudent because we recall the words of Romans 3:23, "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."

No one escapes the truth of St. Paul's words.

With some trepidation, then, it is time for a second tentative foray into highlighting a well-known person's exposition of his journey with Christ.

Denzel Washington Jr. was referred to by the New York Times in 2020 as "the greatest actor of the 21st century."

Admittedly, we're not very far into the current century but it's high praise nonetheless from such an august publication.

Washington, now 66, is the son of a bivocational Pentecostal minister and a beauty shop owner.

His parents divorced when he was 14, and as a result of the split, Washington was sent off to military school -- a move the actor said in retrospect saved him from a life of crime.

Washington has made some wonderful films -- "Cry Freedom," "Crimson Tide," "Malcolm X," all come quickly to mind.

He's also made motion pictures full of violence and profanity.

Regrettable, yes, but a person has to make a living.

It's what Washington says when he is given a platform to speak his mind that is most impressive.

One such talk, available via YouTube, comes to mind. Excerpts follow.

"Put God first. Put God first in everything you do. Everything you think you see in me, everything I've accomplished, everything you think I have -- and I have a few things -- everything I have is by the grace of God."

Washington has recalled a moment in his life he considered lifechanging.

"(It was) March 27, 1975, I was flunking out of college [with] a 1.7 grade point average. I was sitting in my mother's beauty parlor, and I'm looking in the mirror, and I see behind me a woman under the dryer. Every time she looked up and every time I looked up, she was looking at me in the eye. She was a stranger to me. She said, 'Somebody give me a pen. I have a prophecy.' She told me I was going to travel the world and speak to millions of people. Mind you, I flunked out of college, and I'm thinking of joining the Army, and I didn't know what I was going to do. Well, I have traveled the world and I have spoken to millions of people. But that's not the most important thing here. What she taught me that day has stayed with me since. I've been protected, I've been directed, I've been corrected. I've kept God in my life and He's kept me humble. I didn't always stick with Him but He always stuck with me. So, stick with Him in everything you do."

I listened to Washington, a two-time Academy Award winner, and was concurrently reminded of the people in my life who have encouraged me along the way.

One did so very recently, within the past month.

Encourage somebody, reader. You may never know the impact your uplifting words may have on another.

We would also do well to follow Washington's oft-repeated dictum: Keep God first.