Last night was an unusual Sunday evening and having nothing to do! With no church meeting to attend and no one coming over it was a night for us to sit and "veg-out" in front of the tube! Trying to find something for the family, we turned on ABC's "Extreme Home Makeover." This show started with the idea of finding a needy family,whose home was falling apart and within seven days transform the home. As the years have added up, instead of taking an existing home and doing some creative remodeling, that basic tear the house down and build a completely new one. The plot line of each show is the same some family stricken by tradegy states their case and Ty and the boys bulldoze their home! I came to the conclusion last night -- I can not take it any more.
I know the show must have a complex screening process of who gets a new house -- but the families they have on there are too contrived. It is no longer a show that surprises unsuspecting families who are living their lives and doing some good things in the community and then whammo they get a "upgarde on their home" -- not a completely NEW ONE!
Also I was thinking last night -- "if this family is hurting so bad and needs help -- where is the community's help before the show whows up?" I mean it is a wonderful thing to see a hundrend people show up to help when the cameras are rolling, bt what about when NO ONE IS WATCHING. It seems to me this is more of a publicity stun and not a community service project or an act of benevolent care!
I think if a family was chosen and Ty and the team went in and just did some simple -- yet creative and costly refurbishing of a home -- the family would arrive from Disney and move the bus and say -- "WHAT IS THIS....WHERE IS MY NEW HOUSE -- YOU HAVE CHEATED US!!!" Good bye.... "OH MY GOOOODDDD!" Good bye gratefulness. Good bye the reason the show is on.
This is a real lesson to us as Christians when we are looking to do "good works."
- Do it to "truly needy" people. What really concerns me about some of these families is that the reason they are in a bad way is the terrible decisions that they have made in the past. Is the show giving them counseling and training on how NOT to make the same decisions? Are these people in need because of commissioned sins and poor judgment or are they truly needy people from some accident or uninitiated act or decision.
- Don do the act of kindness for publicity. Hey ABC -- here is a twist -- use your investigative abilities and use hidden cameras to find construction companies that do what you do all year long or on a regular bases with out the shows pubilicity!
- The church should help before ABC shows up. The fact is the church has the man power, money and creativity to give those in need a "Semi-extreme home makeover." A number of years ago a man in a former church came down with MS and was bound to a wheel chair. His home was ill fitted to handle it. Men in the church spend a month or so retro-fitting the house with ramps and widening door ways so the man could stay in his home! Where were the cameras on that makeover?
- Finally if you do something long effort it gets old! That is why constantly we must be looking for different ways to reach out and impact different people in different ways. We have done "In and Out Sunday" for the past two years -- being involved with community service projects on a given Sunday. This is the third year coming -- we need to re-think what we do so it doesn't become OLD and MECHANICAL!
There you have Ty....ABC are you listening.....SEARS reconsider what you are doing? You have a great concept in a show and in the beginning it seemed real and sincere and not so commericalized. Now all it seems like is a staged construction of a new house with a family screaming "Oh My God!" at the end.