There are many out there who are openly criticizing Dennis Rodman and his ongoing friendship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. I’m not one of them. In fact, I feel the exact opposite. Instead, what I feel towards Rodman is admiration because he is going against the masses and practicing something that I believe Jesus would be doing if He were still alive.
The one thing that I have always embraced most about Jesus is the fact that He practiced unconditional love and kindness towards everyone, regardless of what any of the masses felt. In the Bible it was written that He first openly practiced this principle with Mary Magdeline, who was said to be a prostitute. When she was about to be stoned, Jesus asked those who were going to commit that act to do so only if they hadn’t sinned themselves. The story goes on to say that no one threw a stone that day at Mary. I’m a firm believer that Jesus would feel the same way towards Kim Jong Un, even though the rest of the world has a lot less kind things to say about the man. While many label him as a ruthless dictator with absolutely no heart or compassion, I see something completely different. What I see is a person who was suddenly thrust into a position that had always been served in a certain way. I also see a person who has a soul just like me and that alone is enough to warrant my own love and compassion. Because it’s through those things that great spiritual change takes place.
This is what I perceive Dennis Rodman trying to do and I’ve always liked him because of that. When he played for the Detroit Pistons or the Chicago Bulls, he genuinely liked to beat to his own drum. He always ignored what everyone said about him and lived by his own passion. Now, Rodman is doing the very same thing by attempting to bridge the tense relations and open the door a little more with North Korea. I think that’s a pretty admirable thing to do and I’m convinced that Jesus would feel the same way.
What too many fail to remember is that Jesus helped change people’s hearts by showing them true love and light, no matter how bad of things the people said they did. This is how I’m trying to live my own life these days. I attempt my best to love and embrace everyone I come across, regardless of any harmful actions they might have ever done to others. I also do my best to embrace those who don’t choose to embrace me, including the many Christians who have often told me I’m going to hell because I’m gay.
So I’m grateful for the people like Dennis Rodman who continue to do their best to love and embrace those that the masses so quickly denounce. I believe the hearts, minds, and souls of every single human being can be changed for the spiritual better through all acts of love. Whether Rodman’s action of putting on an exhibition game for Kim Jong Un’s 31st birthday helped to soften the heart of the North Korean leader will remain to be seen. But it’s the fact that Rodman continues to make attempts to love unconditionally that I believe really matters.
If we are going to walk in the shoes of Christ, then none of us should be judging anyone, including Un. Instead we should be praying and doing our best to send love and light to those people, like I believe Rodman is trying to do with Un. Because it’s in that type of unconditional love where God’s light and change can truly shine forth…
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson