I suppose many of you are aware that the latest season of American Idol is now on TV.  For those of you who are not familiar with this program, it is structured a lot like the old Star Search.  Hundreds of wannabe stars compete for the top prize.  As they perform, they are evaluated by a panel of three judges who critique them before turning their fate over to you, the viewing audience. When I watch, it is difficult for me to not ask myself, “How would I do if I was on the show?” 

Don’t worry, I am not going to try, for several reasons:  Not young enough, not talented enough and “Simon”.  Simon is one of the three judges on the show.  Paula and Randy, the other two, usually try to be supportive and positive.  They will often try to talk about what went well before telling you what you did wrong.  But Simon; he seems to take an evil pleasure from looking you square in the face before saying something like, “That was the worst performance I have heard in a very long time”, or “You appear to have absolutely no talent for this”.  Actually, I suspect it is because of Simon that so many people watch.  There is something about watching someone else get humiliated that makes us feel better about ourselves.  “Well, I may not be talented either, but at least I was not stupid enough to try out for that show”, may sum up our attitude as we watch.  It is the presence of Simon that keeps out the riff raff; it is his job to insure that those unqualified are kept in their place. 

It is just that fear, however, that keeps many of us from developing spiritual ministries.  Often, we are afraid that we will fail in our attempt to serve God.  I mean, what could be worse than bearing the name of Jesus Christ as we go down in flames.  It would be bad enough to hear God say, “Depart from me, I never knew you”, who wants to hear God say, “Depart from me I am embarrassed by you”, or, “Depart from me, you really have no talent”.  We fear that God will be the Celestial Simon, judging our work and holding us to a standard that is greater than our abilities.