Difficult Times

What makes Oscar who he is

So I hear all the drama about this guy named Oscar. They’re throwing a party for Oscar this February the 28^th and all the “Movers & Shakers” will be out in attendance; except for certain outraged black actors. I heard that some believe Oscar has a problem with blacks, so much so; that many black actors are requesting that the host of Oscar’s party, Chris Rock, boycott the party and not participate. Whether Chris Rock attends the party or not, will be entirely up to him.

As a African American, my first reaction to the allegation of Oscar having problems with blacks was to let anything fly out of the cockpit; in an effort to tie the allegation about Oscar with the undisputable fact that people of color do get the short end of the stick. But after I collected myself, I decided to do my homework on Oscar before I began to sip on my “Haterade.”

First of all, Oscar isn’t that tall of a guy, standing 13.5 in tall and weighs about 8.5 pounds; so he sounds like “Funsize” material. Oscar does have a very sleek form, not to mention the whole knight thing with the crusader’s sword. I take it that Oscar really wants to look important standing on a reel of film with five spokes. The five spokes represent the Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers and Technicians.

Oscar really knows how to take it over the top with his Shine. I mean Oscar has on some Dynamite copper, along with nickel silver and to make sure he shines, Oscar finishes his ensemble with a 24-Karat gold plate. What I didn’t know was that underneath Oscar’s stunning attire and stylish bravado, lays a Black Metal Base! You see, all of Oscar’s “Shine” is held together by the Black Metal Base!

"Am I sorry if I do it again?"

It’s been awhile but “What a way to get back on the scene!” REPENTANCE, who talks about repentance anymore? When was the last time you heard a sermon on Repentance? If you aren’t hearing “Repentance” from the pulpit anymore; you definitely aren’t hearing it in the marketplace! What is Repentance? It means a change of mind that result in a change of actions. How did the City of Phoenix know that I had repented from driving in the HOV lane? Answer; I paid the $450.00 fine and without a passenger, refused to get back into the HOV lane. If a person slaps you in the face and says, “I’m sorry” and then slaps you in the face again, would you believe the person repented?

Here lies the problem, if I don’t believe I have done anything wrong, why would I repent? If I was given an rx which was the cure for AIDS, I would probably be offended that I was given it, without the knowledge of me having HIV. But if I knew I had AIDS and someone gave me the cure for it, without hesitation I would grab it and would not feel disrespected or offended.

God has placed His Laws in each and every one of our hearts; which serve as a moral GPS. When we violate or get off course, this moral GPS goes bananas. Even if you’ve learned to ignore this moral GPS, doesn’t mean that you’re not off course or haven’t violated His Laws. Look, I drive a small pick-up and the engine light has been on for the past month. Even though the truck continues to run, doesn’t mean that everything is fine under the hood; in fact it serves a greater notice that I’m inching closer to paying for an expensive repair. What’s the message that I’m trying to convey? You and I can feel that we are Absolute about something, only to find out that we have been ABSOLUTELY WRONG! When that happens we need to REPENT.