Elton John's Yellow Brick Breakdown

Spirituality column #3
Nov. 21 (written Nov. 14)
Current in Carmel

Yellow Brick Breakdown
By Bob Walters

Maybe the greatest pathway to sin is “convenience.”

So much of our religious life, or lack thereof, is a referendum on our personal “convenience” (a word, incidentally, that does not appear in the Bible, not even The Message). Whether we are very churched, very unchurched or somewhere in between, convenience too often plays a gate keeping role in our faith and religious practice.

This notion popped into my head when I was reading Elton John’s comments last week that he would “ban religion completely” because “it doesn’t work” and “religion turns us into hateful lemmings.”

Sir Elton is certainly free to declare religion disappointing. Religion, when it reflects human passions instead of God’s glory, can be a real mess. We are flawed humans and we get religion wrong all the time (OK, maybe you don’t). Anyway, Elton might have a point.

On the other hand …

Elton went on to compare himself to the Queen Mother (re: his place in British culture), says people treat him reverently, and that he and spouse Dave are the acceptable face of gayness.

Religion, declares Sir Elton, is generally hateful and lacks compassion. In the next sentence, he calls on religious leaders solve the world’s problems. He’ll fight for gay rights and “can’t sit back and blindly ignore it.”

C’mon Elton. Sing your songs and shut up already.

This is a huge, teachable moment; not about gayness or inflated self concept or crippled logic, but about bad personal worldview editing. The common tragedy of celebrity is that one occupies a center that should properly be occupied by God.

When you are Elton John, filled with so much talent and capable of expressing so much love, I suspect religion is especially befuddling because in its best form its divine peace is so desirable, its human failings so disappointing, and especially-times-two, its humility and discipline so utterly inconvenient.

We should examine our “Sir Elton” moments when our faith is a function of convenience; or worse, when our “religious” actions validate Sir Elton’s assessment.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com), a Carmel resident, wonders if the Queen Mother ever thinks she is Elton John.