MTV Awards in Belfast - Short Term Gain, Long Term Loss

The biggest entertainment event ever to be staged in Northern Ireland offers the province the opportunity to move forward and assert its place on the global map, according to tourism chief Alan Clarke.

More than 10,000 hotel rooms have been booked for the awards which as an event is expected to generate more than £10 million for the province.

The awards and a series of other shows laid on as part of Belfast Music Week are expected to draw thousands of fans into the city, but it is the international exposure that Mr Clarke said presented the greatest opportunity.

The awards event will be broadcast live into over half a billion homes in up to 160 countries across the globe, putting Belfast and Northern Ireland firmly at the centre of the international stage. Coverage of the event will be carried internationally across 500 satellite and terrestrial TV networks, a multitude of global radio stations and thousands of print media.

“There is a real feeling out there that this is our time to turn the tide and confidently put Northern Ireland on the global tourism map. We want to change global perceptions of the image and reputation of Northern Ireland and raise its profile as a must-see destination,” said Mr Clarke.

We can understand the excitement that this largest musical event ever held in the province has generated, especially with the pound signs piling up high.

However, our sad conclusion is that the staging of the MTV Awards ceremony in Belfast will result in short term gain, but long term loss.

The first issue we take with the MTV Awards ceremony in is the day on which it is held.

THE LORD’S DAY

Isaiah chapter 58 is a classic passage that indicates some of the blessings that come to us when we are careful to keep one day in seven for the Lord - and also draws attention to the losses we incur when we ‘stamp on the Sabbath.’

Speaking of salt that has lost its savour, Christ said that, “it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men” (Matthew 5:13).

In Isaiah’s day, men were treating the Sabbath as savourless salt; they trampled it under foot and treated it as an unholy, worthless thing (Isaiah 58:13). To them, it was just another opportunity for trade and pleasure.

However, through the mouth of His prophet, the Lord spells out some of the blessings that come to us when we are careful to keep the Lord’s Day:

1. JOY IN THE LORD.

“If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord ... .”

When He was upon earth, Christ had to contend with the Pharisees who, with their suffocating system of tyrannical laws, made the Sabbath a dismal, crushing and intolerable burden for their society. Those Pharisees lost all sense of purpose of the day for the Lord (Matthew 12). There are 39 words in the Hebrew 4th commandment (Exodus 20:8‑11): they multiplied 39 x 39 and made up 1521 foolish rules ‑ plus ways to get round them. The sabbath is meant to be a holy and a happy day in which we delight ourselves in the Lord.

“The city is literally vibrating with joy,” said Gary Lightbody, frontman of the local band Snow Patrol, of tonight’s events in Belfast.

I am by no means persuaded that this is the kind of joy requisite of this day – “joy in the Lord.”

2. VICTORY.

A second promise to those who keep the sabbath is victory: “If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth ... .”

In many ways, the Lord’s Day is the training ground of the child of God; the time during which he hones his powers and sharpens his weaponry for the conflict that is to take place in the week (or weeks) that stretch in front of him. That man who respects God’s Day is not a loser, but a victor! Of course the reverse is also true.

3. FEASTING ON ALL GOOD THINGS.

Isaiah 58:13&14 further states: “If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee [lit. ‘feast’] with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”

The mention of a feast conjures up the idea of abundance ‑ all the good things your heart could wish for!

However, is it practical to spend one whole day in each revolving set of seven in the worship of God? Is the fourth commandment really binding upon us now?

I appreciate the answer of Pastor Walter Chantry (minister of Grace Baptist Church, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.) in his book, ‘Call the Sabbath a Delight.’ He says:

“There can be no other answer to straighten out our crooked generation. Nothing but a weekly day of worship will begin to touch the ignorance which has gripped humanity. This alone, under God, can save families, churches, schools and governments from total moral collapse. ... It is such habit, routine and discipline that will give men both a knowledge of God and moral standards by which to live. It is just such a Sabbath Day that will strengthen families and social institutions. No wonder the church herself is devotionally, doctrinally and morally weak. Even Christians will not devote a day each week to their Lord.

Failure to practise this moral law is a root cause of moral decline, social disorder and widespread human suffering. No successful recovery of mankind can be devised without the inclusion of the fourth commandment in the remedy. ... This is a critical moral topic for our gravely corrupt generation.”

Evidently, those who organised the MTV Awards Ceremony in Belfast on a Sunday have little regard for counsel such as Chantry’s.

Their concession cannot come without cost.

A statement made by D.L. Moody, the renowned American evangelist, does not suggest that the desecration of God’s Day will lead to any long-term success: “Show me a nation that has given up the sabbath and I will show you a nation that has got the seed of decay.”

THE LYRICS

Compounding the problem of the day that has been chosen for this event are the kind of unsavoury lyrics that will be sounded out over our capital city.

At least some of the artists due to perform at the Awards have a reputation for sleazy lyrics - and, to say the least, dress accordingly.

Lady Gaga is up for the night's two biggest prizes, best song and best video - both for ‘Born This Way,’ the title track of her current album.

Gaga has explained that ‘Born This Way’ is her freedom song. The lyrics of the song talk about self-empowerment and feature the names of LGBT communities.

Meghan Casserly of ‘Forbes’ expected ‘Born This Way’ to be the biggest gay anthem ever, since, according to her, it was written with that purpose in mind.

These lines appear in this song:

No matter gay, straight, or bi,
Lesbian, transgendered life,
I’m on the right track baby,
I was born to survive.

I’m beautiful in my way
'Cause God makes no mistakes
I’m on the right track, baby
I was born this way.

In light of the inappropriate and explicit lyrics used by some of the performers, this is definitely one event staged in Belfast that no Christian can welcome.

GOSPEL WITNESS

However, the Christian’s duty as “salt and light” in this world is not exhausted by offering criticism, no matter how valid, from the sidelines.

Thousands of people clustered in the centre of Belfast has afforded an opportunity to our Belfast-based ministers and members of their congregations to shine the light of Christ into the darkness of this world. They have ended this Lord’s Day in a most profitable fashion by circulating many Gospel tracts among the crowd that has gathered for this Awards ceremony.

Under God, through His grace and overruling providence, our prayer is that some souls will find salvation and satisfaction in Christ as a result of this outreach and, in days future, will be able to reflect that this was the occasion when they were born again. Please pray with us to this end.