Its with no question and speculation that we have a desire to worship and to stand in awe of something. We constantly obsess( or seem like we don’t) over people with talent, looks, charisma, acting ability, lyrical genius, storytelling ability, exc. The list goes on for all of us. Our American Dream lingo keeps us believing that its either Hollywood or being homeless on Venice beach.

Everyone has a story. Everyone has pain and suffering and want the world to understand them. Lajos Egri in his book The Art Of Dramatic Writing, tells the story of someone smashing the statue of Zeus. He gets caught and he says, “I am a nobody. All my life I’ve been a nobody. I’ve never done anything to distinguish myself and I knew I never would. I wanted to do something to make people notice me…and remember me.” After a moment’s silence he added, “Only those people die who are forgotten. I feel death is a small price to pay for immortality!”

The point is that humans will do whatever they can to elicit praise. And mostly it comes from other people. We worship not just ourselves( the worst form of idolatry) we worship other people. Its no secret from the tabloids that our desire to praise people turns to destruction when someone gains more weight then we want them to, or divorces, or kills, or destroys, or steals or does what all people do. The worshiped pay the price so that they stay worshiped. I am sure Kim Kardashian has a soul and God have mercy, but she seems to be fine with either faking her stupidity or really just not caring that the whole world sees every part of her all the time.

I am more moved by the fact that the best storytellers other that God Himself exist and function and live to move me in my deepest being. To keep me addicted to it. To keep me streaming it, buying it and spending all my free time on it. I am the man willing to smash Zeus and spend my life enjoying it.

Entertainment is an idol but it also makes sense why we love it so much. It makes sense why we would spend $20 every Friday or any Friday for that matter. Instead of family time on Christmas some of the best of the best movies of the year come out instead. We will always love it. And we will continue to pay to hear the stories told.

Our condition makes its petition. The frailty of our existence. Our limitations. The fact that most people are not happy and are not satisfied with marriages, and kids and careers. We will always love the scandals(not just the show Scandal) but the endless corruption. The corrupt cop movies. The distorted trust that politicians ask us to place in them. All so Watergate scandals can disarm a nation and yet government continues and secrets get buried deep. We want the stories of dysfunction to resonate with our own depravity. We will pay for it again and again.

This talent cannot be taught. It might be for some. You either have it or not. You either can bring it to a place that makes sense for all to understand. But one thing is true..God..is..the one that has put the desire to tell stories and the desire for us to matter and be important.

Do you have the story to tell and do you have the story to sell?