I have to confess a couple of things before I can really get into the point of this post. One, I really like “Survivor.” Not just like the way you might like something on Facebook, or like this post; and not even when you really, really like something, or like-like it, you know, the way you would a girl in middle school because you know you’re not supposed to love someone that still watches Saturday morning cartoons and yet what you feel for her is definitely more than just being pals. No, when I say I like “Survivor,” I mean that I am captivated by it, totally drawn in, will DVR it and watch it even if I can’t start until midnight. I really like it.
Two, I’m an idiot for liking it that much. I know it, but I can’t stop it. Even though they spin it as a reality show, I know that the finished product CBS is giving me is a manipulated, edited, manufactured version of reality, and so sometimes when I watch it and like it, I feel like a car buyer falling in love with a car on the lot of a cheating used car salesman. It drives nice, looks nice, and sounds nice, but you just never really know.
All that to say this: Matt Elrod has become the most compelling story in the game now. More than Phillip and his pink underwear, or Boston Rob and his little cult following, watching this young man stand firm in his faith while playing what could possibly be the toughest hand of “Survivor” ever dealt a contestant has been rich. And last night, just when I thought it couldn’t get any more compelling, it did.
Now, if you’re not a follower of “Survivor,” let me at least give you the nutshell. Castaways compete as 2 tribes, and each time one tribe loses a challenge, they go to Tribal Council and vote off a member of their tribe. In past seasons, the person voted off was finished; this season they are sent to Redemption Island and given a shot to get back in the game. Basically, if you go there, you spend a lot of time alone. Matt went there on Day 5 of a 39 day game. He got back in the game about 2 weeks later and and was immediately sent back at the next Tribal Council by the same teammates who had sent him there before.
For all you Bible readers, it’s basically John on the island of Patmos…twice.
Each week the cameras catch Matt alone – praying, reading a Bible that another contestant gave him when she left the game, and holding fast to the hope that God placed him on the island for a reason. And then, at last night’s duel to stay in the game, Matt said he was at peace with going home. He said he felt like he had accomplished what God wanted him to do and that he had honored his God in how he’d played the game. He went on to win the duel and is still in the game, still on Redemption Island. Out of 30 days, he’s spent somewhere around 23 of them banished, broken, and trusting God.
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)
We could stop there and we’d all be encouraged, and yet, I’m afraid that we’d be stopping too soon. Matt’s stand has been encouraging, and most of us have seen others stand strong, too. But last night, on a nationally and internationally televised primetime show, I got to see the last part of that verse lived out. I saw men giving glory to God because of Matt letting his light shine in the darkest part of this game.
Julie Wolfe
As soon as the duel was over, Jeff Probst commented that obviously Matt’s God wasn’t done with him yet. Did you catch that? The host of the show acknowledging the truth of God’s guidance in Matt’s life? And then, when Probst asked Julie Wolfe to sum up her experience before leaving the game (because she had lost the duel), she said that watching Matt live out his faith had made her ready to get back home and find a local church. Say what?? More praise to God on primetime television, all because one young man has carried the light of Christ in a way that is honoring to God and receivable by men.
Don’t miss that last part. Too often we do the first, but we do it in a way that hinders the second. Sure, we shine our lights before men, but usually they’re like the bright lights of an interrogation room showing the world their sin as opposed to a candle providing the light we all need to find our way. As a result, those around us think we’re the crazy Christians and want nothing to do with our Father. Most of the time, Christians on shows like “Survivor” come across that way, and it makes me cringe to watch. But Matt has been different, and as much as I know that reality television isn’t always reality, I know that God is receiving praise because one man has chosen to shine the light of Christ in a way that can help lead a culture to Jesus.
Imagine if we all did the same.
