<\/p>\n
Perez Hilton\u2019s livestream was the stuff of nightmares \u2014 a potentially\u00a0demonic episode\u00a0\u2014 and has laid bare the dark underbelly of social media, in more ways than one.<\/p>\n
On the periphery of the scandal, a TikTok live video feed that ran nearly half an hour and\u00a0showed Hilton\u00a0covered in blood and repeatedly harming himself, was another troubling indication of cultural decay: a society that cares not about praying for our enemies but about getting even.<\/p>\n
Jared Padalecki, who rose to fame in the early 2000s as one of the stars of \u201cGilmore Girls,\u201d has used his clout to advocate for mental wellness, so it\u2019s particularly striking to see him not only rescind\u00a0but apologize for\u00a0wishing Hilton well amidst his recovery from what was and will be a decisively defining and deeply dark moment in his life.<\/p>\n
Initially, Padalecki wrote on social media, \u201cI hope you are trying as best as you can to be kind to yourself right now. Please surround yourself with the love and support that all humans deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t long before the \u201cSupernatural\u201d star faced swift condemnation for his kindhearted message to the celebrity gossip blogger. Padalecki deleted the post and apologized for publicly hoping for healing for Hilton, telling critics he \u201cdidn\u2019t know\u201d about the columnist\u2019s career.<\/p>\n
Padalecki went on to apologize for his \u201cwords caus[ing] any harm\u201d and added he hopes everyone is \u201ctaking care of yourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was Padalecki\u2019s first instinct \u2014 his wish for Hilton\u2019s healing \u2014\u00a0that was correct, regardless of Hilton\u2019s checkered past and his indefensible work as a gossip blogger, actions that undoubtedly caused harm to the celebrities who were subject to his coverage.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s exactly what Jesus commands of us as His followers in Matthew 5:44-47 (NLT).<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I say to you,\u201d Jesus preached, \u201clove your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n
He went on to say, \u201cFor He gives His sunlight to both the evil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then, in Romans 12:17-21 (NLT), the Apostle Paul warned against taking revenge or seeking vengeance against others:<\/p>\n
Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable.\u00a0Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, \u2018I will take revenge; I will pay them back,\u2019 says the\u00a0Lord.<\/p>\n
Instead, \u2018If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.\u2019<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.<\/p>\n
Our petition for God to intervene for the healing of another human being made in God\u2019s image (Genesis 1:27) should never be predicated on what he or she has done in the past. Rather, it should be evidence of an outpouring of gratitude for a forgiveness gifted to us by a Savior who asks each of us to forgive one another in the same way God, through Jesus, has forgiven us (Ephesians 4:32).<\/p>\n
Hilton, who in recent months\u00a0has professed a faith in Jesus, needs prayer \u2014 regardless of the sins of his past.<\/p>\n
All of us should absolutely be held accountable for our errors, missteps, and wrongdoings; taking responsibility for our actions is a necessary consequence of the choices we each make in this life. None of that, though, absolves us of the duty to pray for those around us or to need the prayers of others.<\/p>\n
In the King James Version translation of 1 Peter 2:9, the Apostle Peter wrote that believers are \u201ca chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,\u00a0a peculiar people<\/em>\u201d in the world.<\/p>\n While social media is preying on our worst instincts \u2014\u00a0our fallen nature \u2014 to belittle, disparage, and denigrate, we follow a God who is calling us to do the opposite, to\u00a0be peculiar<\/em>\u00a0by praying for the redemption of those trapped in dark places distant from the Lord.<\/p>\n As the psalmist wrote, I pray that, even as Hilton walks through the \u201cdarkest valley,\u201d he would find the Shepherd who \u201cleads me beside peaceful streams,\u201d \u201crenews my strength,\u201d and \u201cguides me along right paths\u201d (Psalm 23:1-4, NLT)<\/p>\n *** AI tools threaten to hide CBN News from your online searches! Sign up for\u00a0<\/strong>CBN Newsletters\u00a0today to<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0ensure you can still find the latest news from a Christian perspective.***<\/strong><\/p>\n .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Perez Hilton\u2019s livestream was the stuff of nightmares \u2014 a potentially\u00a0demonic episode\u00a0\u2014 and has laid bare the dark underbelly of social media, in more ways than one. On the periphery of the scandal, a TikTok live video feed that ran nearly half an hour and\u00a0showed Hilton\u00a0covered in blood and repeatedly harming himself, was another troubling<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31338,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[1222,10442,8566,621,454,6522],"class_list":["post-31337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jesus","tag-celebrity","tag-hiltons","tag-perez","tag-recovery","tag-takes","tag-wishes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31337\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}