Can I Get An Amen?

OK - so I just got finished watching the video of Michael Vick's post-hearing press conference/public apology. Now, I am struggling with some of his comments.

This case has hit close to home for me because I am an Atlanta resident and a (sometimes obnoxious) fan of Atlanta sports. Granted, baseball is way more my thing than football ever will be, but I am a dyed-in-the-wool "root, root, root for the home team" kind of gal. I am also an animal lover, so this entire situation has been very hard to stomach.

I am also a Christian who (like most, I would imagine) wrestle with questions of faith pretty much on a daily basis. I am constantly working on building a closer relationship with God and I look to the teachings of Jesus Christ for the lessons he left to assist us in our daily struggles. I am overjoyed by the spreading of the Gospel, by new souls accepting His message and dedicating themselves to Christ.

Here's my problem - Michael Vick, in the midst of what almost sounded like a truly humble apology, decided to say that because of this situation he has "found Jesus and decided to turn his life over to God." If that is true, that is fantastic news! What I'm struggling with is believing the statement in the first place.

It seems like a basic PR tactic nowadays for celebrities to invoke the name of Jesus and claim to have found Him when they find themselves in the biggest mess they can imagine...Paris Hilton, anyone? True, God does some of His best work when folks are going through extremely difficult trials in life and many a soul has been converted as a result of weathering hard times. However, this is one of those times when the proclamation sounds blasphemous. If the Southern Christian Leadership Conference had plans to honor Vick and "recognize him as an outstanding human being," wouldn't you think that he supposedly already had a relationship with Jesus?

In fact, it may be the phrase "I found Jesus" that I have trouble with. Through it's misuse by less-than-genuine individuals, it holds about as much meaning for me as someone proclaiming that they are "a good Christian" as part of their defense against an accusation of wrongdoing. Why add "good" to the claim? Isn't it enough to be a Christian? Shouldn't simply proclaiming yourself a Christian signify the morals and beliefs that you live by? Apparently not.

I think that getting all of this off of my chest has led me to discover the source of what has been bothering me, and it goes deeper than Michael Vick. Christians of all denominations (myself included) need to start getting their message across in all methods available to them. Sadly, simply saying you are a Christian does not mean that you are a Christian. Too many self-aggrandizing hypocrites have "cried wolf" for anyone to simply take you at your word anymore. Unfortunately, this reality taints the message of anyone who evanglizes through words alone.

Every one of us needs to lead first by example. Dig deep into the lessons of Jesus Christ and pull out your "WWJD" bracelet if necessary, but do it. Don't tell everyone else to do it, or simply say you're going to do it. Pray about it and do it - find that strength and resolve and put your faith into action. All of us will stumble and fall, all of us will come up short, but we have no excuse for not trying.

As for Michael Vick, who prompted all of this self-analysis, I do hope that what he has claimed is true and that his actions will start to speak much louder than his words.