COULD YOU WIN AN ACADEMY AWARD?

On March 25, the Academy Awards were given.  Top honors went to the 
movie Gladiator which took both Best Picture and Best Actor.  What was 
most amazing to me was how different Russell Crowe appeared as compared 
to his character in the movie.

In the movie, Crowe is a Roman General named Maximus who is betrayed 
by the Emperor's son and banished into slavery.  Maximus is eventually 
drafted to fight in the gladiator arena.  There he excels to the delight of the 
Roman crowds, creating a conflict between him and his old enemy who is 
now the Emperor.  It is a movie that recreates ancient Rome in remarkable 
detail and helps depict the horrible decay that eventually consumed it (but 
back to my main point).

Crowe did an incredible job depicting his character Maximus.  Because once 
he had shaved off his beard and reclaimed his Australian accent, he looked 
nothing like the Roman hero he had portrayed.  Such is a sign of a good 
actor.

Unfortunately, many people are nothing more than incredible actors.  They 
put on an "Academy" performance at work, in front of their friends and even 
at church, only to go back home and return to their real character.  Jesus 
called such individuals "hypocrites."  Ironically, the word hypocrite is 
derived from the stage actors of the ancient Greek world.

When Jesus condemned his Pharisaic critics, he warned his hearers, "But do 
not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach" (Mt. 23:3-
4).  How genuine are you?  Is what others see really a reflection of who you 
really are?  We need to be serious about truly practicing what we preach—
because God already knows and Christians aren't striving to win an Oscar.