I really can't believe it's been 15 years since July 6, 1998.
15 years!
I, myself, was 15 years old.
World Championship Wrestling needed a new hero. Bill Goldberg seemed to fit the bill. Goldberg had been tearing though opponents for months. He had been a big star for the Georgia Bulldogs and even made a roster for the Atlanta Falcons. He was explosive and in each of his matches he had gone out and, in a matter of minutes, destroyed wrestler after wrestler. While there were better matches on the show, everyone was excited to see Goldberg's matches. Same drill each week: security walks him backstage to the stage, he would stand in the fireworks, blow smoke from his nose, attack, spear, Jackhammer, and pin his opponent. He was getting mainstream attention and his charisma was carrying him to heights seen by only a select few. On July 6, 1998 in front of over 40,000 wild, Georgia fans he beat Scott Hall and then Hollywood Hulk Hogan. He became the World Champion and WCW thought they turned the corner. They were wrong.
I was just a kid.
I was able to vicariously live through these heroes on TV, just like teenagers today still do with their heroes. 15 year old J.J. had low self esteem. I felt like I only had a few friends, but they were really only school friends. Very rarely was I invited to do anything by non-Church teenagers. I was told that I was annoying and that I wasn't funny. My face had blown up with acne. No girls were interested in me. I felt like a big loser. I didn't feel like I was adding all that much to the world. The good news...I was wrong.
It was only a matter of years (2001 to be exact) and WCW was no more. A series of bad decisions (including giving away the Hogan vs. Goldberg match on free TV) caused their ratings to sink. They were overtaken by their main competitor and purchased. WCW has been the butt of many jokes in the wrestling world ever since. Seriously, who wouldn't mock a company (even though the matches are rigged) that allowed David Arquette to be the World Champion?
I wish I could say that in a short matter of years that I had overcome those feelings about myself...but it took quite a bit longer than that. I found out that people did like me, but being a self conscious teenager with a backpack full of issues made that hard to see. It took me studying my Bible diligently to see that God loved me and to see that I had a lot to offer Him. Everything fell in place when I viewed life with the proper perspective. We should look at life through the metaphorical lenses of Ephesians 2:10 "For we are his worksmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
So you may be different. Is that a bad thing?God used different types of people throughout the Bible. All kinds of people. Cupbearers. Shepherds. Fishermen. Sycamore pinchers. Tax collectors. God used many different people because of their abilities...The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 139:13-15 "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth." When we look at a typical, sound congregation, we will see a vast variety of ages and personalities. God be praised that we have different ages, different personalities, different trials, and different experiences. The more versatile a congregation is, the further that their "light" can shine into a community.
To this day, sometimes I wonder if I annoy the fire out of my friends or that people don't like my jokes...but in the grand scheme of things, I really don't care. I want to use what I have to be effective for God.
Put on your Ephesians 2:10 glasses and look for opportunities to do good for God.
