My problem isn’t really with Deion Sanders. It is with those who worship, praise and defend him. Idolaters are far more dangerous than the idols they glorify.
Those who were outraged by my mild criticism of “Coach Prime” realize that I’m really talking about them, not Sanders. I point out their insecurities, their confidence, their virtues, the deceptions of their faith.
Sanders makes his idolaters feel good about themselves. Coach Prime’s black idol worshipers believe his success says something about black people. His white, liberal idolaters believe that their unconditional support for him makes them more virtuous.
The world could never get rid of idols. Man always avoids the narrow path and seeks a less demanding Savior, an alternative to Jesus. However, the level of idolatry in society waxes and wanes.
Idolatry in America is at an all-time high. That is the true legacy and impact of President Barack Obama. He ushered in an era of unrestrained idolatry. Deion Sanders is the new Barack Obama, an idol beyond all criticism, a celebrity who gives black people pride and white supporters morals.
We continue to seek in humans what humans are designed to receive from a relationship with and understanding of God. Fifteen years ago, when Obama won the White House, many Americans mistakenly believed that President Obama would save the country from the sins of racial division, injustice, and resentment.
That never happened. In fact, racial polarization increased during his eight years in the Obama administration. Should we blame Obama for that? i don’t think so. I condemn the corporate media’s idolatrous relationship with black Americans, white liberals, and the president of the United States.
Humans are not meant to be worshiped. God is. Worship and exaltation bring out the worst in humans. Human beings are sharpened by resistance. President Obama faced far less resistance than any president in American history, making him one of the weakest leaders. He was allowed to dismiss virtually all criticism as racism. Paid sycophants employed by his staff and media agents protected him from his critics.
He existed in a protective bubble. His presidency, along with the growing influence of social media, normalized placing idols in echo chambers of positive reinforcement.
How did Barack Obama’s blanket protections benefit his most passionate idolaters? What was the reward for black people’s idolatry of President Obama?
Well, according to most objective observers, there was no reward.
Tavis Smileyan accomplished black political journalist, and cornel west, Ivy League intellectuals were ostracized for daring to criticize Obama. Smiley basically quit Tom Joyner’s radio show. Obama’s idolaters ruined Smiley’s career and pushed him to the margins of the media.
Without any resistance, Obama was free to build on his legacy as the ultimate freedom fighter for lesbians, gays, transgenders, and queers. Newsweek hailed Obama as “the first gay president.”
Idolatry is the devil’s most effective tool. It blinds believers to the truth and allows humans to succumb to their worst instincts.
That’s what I fear we’ll see from Deion Sanders at the University of Colorado. He has been kept in a corrosive protective bubble of idolatry. Jesus is worshiped, exalted, and defended just as we worship, exalt, and defend him.
No one can cope with it. Dion will perish. And no one benefits.
It’s strange and sad that we’ve learned so little from the Obama years. We have yet to take into account the idolatry produced by his eight-year tenure. Before becoming President Obama, I worked as a columnist in Kansas City, writing for ESPN and Fox Sports, and was praised for my aggressive critique of idols and sacred cows. Now it’s taboo. That is not acceptable within corporate media.
Skip Bayless, who built his career second only to LeBron James, reinvented himself as a jock-sniffer, completely afraid to challenge the pervasive racial idolatry at the center of most sports media narratives.
The Obama era brought us Colin Kaepernick, and now we have Deion Sanders, an idol who attracts scrutiny. false gods.
Our confidence and security come not from having the same skin color as a famous soccer coach, soccer player, or president, but from knowing that we bear the image of God. You should get it. Black pride is a curse because all pride is a curse. Pride hides the truth.
The idolaters would fuel arrogance and undermine Dion’s ability to maintain success at Colorado. Black people who worship Coach Prime’s throne foolishly believe that a winning season in Colorado will benefit them, and that says something about them.
The truth is that our unrepentant idolatry tells you everything you need to know about us and America. We would rather suffer the negative consequences of worshiping a false god than endure the worldly persecution of accepting the real God.
