I love watching the Super Bowl. I love the game, the anticipation of the commercials, and the half-time show - and all the drama that surrounds it.
This year, I looked forward to the half-time show more than any other in recent years. As disappointing as it may be to my mother, these were the guys I grew up listening to. The greatest rapper of all time - Eminem...Dre...Snoop...These guys made me believe this suburban, middle-class white kid from the nice neighborhoods outside of Detroit was a gangsta! I couldn't wait for all the Christians to be upset on social media.
For the record, I loved it.
But then it happened - my wife's all time favorite artist appeared, upside down, in all his glory, SURPRISE...it's 50 aka Ferrari F-50. The man who was shot 9 times...IN...THE...FACE (with my best impersonation of Rob Riggle in The Hangover). You can find me in the club, bottle full of bub...every millennial was on their feet reminiscing of the days when they were fun. You know, before our lives were filled with Disney soundtracks.
And the memes that followed on the internet. Amazing! And although they all were funny, one subject specifically stood out more than any other. 50 cents weight gain...
"50 cent looks like he was hit with inflation."
"50 cent looking like a whole dollar."
"Looks like 50 has been spending a lot of time at the candy shop."
"50 looking more like 250."
Honestly, I grinned at each one I read. But now I've been thinking about it for a couple days and it's really bothering me. How quick we are to judge other people that are in the spot light. I mean, I think there's a bible verse about not judging the speck of dust in someone else's eye and ignoring the log in your own. Let's be real honest - that album "Get Rich Or Die Trying" came out in 2003. We say things so flippantly but most of us wouldn't want a side by side picture of ourselves 19 years apart. Because that would show the truth of our own inability to be disciplined. Because it's easier to joke about someone else than really change our own circumstances. Not to mention that depending on which source you read, 25-33% of Americans are obese.
I was challenged this past year to have less opinions about people. It was brought to my attention of a handful of opinions that people had of me and my beliefs without ever actually having a conversation with me. It hurt. I was bothered. So I began challenging myself - have less opinions, especially of people I don't personally know. It has been one of the greatest additions to my life and that’s my challenge for you if you choose to accept.