Rev. Reed Lee Pedersen's
Mel Brook’s Broadway musical, “The Producers”, can best be described as delightfully inappropriate. It’s a musical about making a bad musical. Recently seeing Matthew Broderick on “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” reminded me of the second movie version in which he starred with the likes of Nathan Lane, Will Ferrell, and Uma Thurman. Uma Thurman played a Swedish beauty whose big song is the title of this article, “If you got it flaunt it!” The whole point of the song, “If you got it flaunt it!” is to boast in one’s greatness. It makes the claim that one should 'strut their stuff'. Pride is what lies at the base of this boasting and therefore it is a sin, but all boasting is not put in that category. The song itself is wildly hilarious but definitely not the inspiration for this rambling. It is the title that reminds me of a few passages about how God intends us to boast. Jeremiah 9:23-24 1 Corinthians 1:28-31 These passages make it clear that the only thing a Christian is permitted to truly boast in and flaunt about is God. God is the ‘stuff you can strut’ for the world to see. Wisdom and strength dwindle with age and the money we make won’t go with us when we die. Because of this, all boasting in such matters is futile according to God through the prophet Jeremiah. God made sure to use the lowly shepherds to witness the Christ Child, women (who at that time were seen as lowly) to witness Jesus’ death and resurrection, and children as the image of what it means to be God’s follower. In doing this, St. Paul points us to this truth again that where we can boast is in the Lord. I don’t want the main point of this to be seen as judgment for those who boast in other things. It is true that boasting in such things is like boasting in the taste of a cheesecake sitting outside in the hot sun. It may taste good now, but sooner rather than later it’s going to spoil. I want the main take away to be the title of this reflection. You have the love of God on your side. You have the cross on your side. You have Jesus’ life giving victory over death and sin on your side. You have the hope of living with God eternally on your side. The amazing thing about all of this stuff is that it can be shared with the whole world. The Holy Spirit can work through your actions to spread the good news to everyone you interact with that God is on their side, too. Conclusion: You got God…And if you got it…FLAUNT IT! Point to Ponder:
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AuthorPastor Reed is a first call pastor at Augustana Lutheran Church in Andover, Illinois. Archives
July 2019
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