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Thursday, June 12, 2014

A Lesson from Jayme Jalandoni

Jayme Jalandoni of PBB
(Source: PhilNews.ph)
It seems that Christianity and Philippine showbiz are incompatible with each other. The former uphold the dignity of women while the latter is more concerned about money and fame to the point that women are peddled like commodity.

The recent controversy in ABS-CBN’s show Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) illustrates this fact. In this show, the contestant Jayme Jalandoni was dared to pose nude for a painting in exchange for their weekly budget.

Jayme, a devout Christian from a conservative family, was torn with this challenge since it goes against her faith. She cried (a lot) while trying to explain why she didn’t want to do the challenge. Kuya tried to convince her by showing testimonials from models of nude paintings. Her firm decision only came when her father told her to say “no” to the challenge.

There are plenty of lessons that can be gleaned from the controversy. One is about the dignity of women. Another lesson is about the morality (or the lack of it) in the Philippine showbiz. But one aspect that I found interesting is how a contestant’s faith played (or was played at) during the controversy.

Jayme is admirable for publicly professing her Christian faith but it is a risky move since she is in a show known for its shallowness and gimmicks for the sake of ratings. It should be obvious to her, especially before she entered the house, that the show’s director will shake her faith for the sake of ratings.

Jayme’s religiosity is like a nail sticking out the woodwork and it is very tempting to hammer it down. And the hammer indeed came down and that is the nude painting challenge.

 This incident in the PBB house is a good lesson for those who publicly profess their Christian faith. Saying that you are a follower of our Lord is very easy but doing so gives you more responsibility in standing up for the faith. The Devil hates those who are very public in professing their faith. He will do his best to make you fall and spit out everything you said. Your fall will cause scandal and scandal will shake the faith of many.

Just look at the many “Christian” (specifically “Catholic Christians”) government officials, media personalities, and even priests and bishops who are not ashamed to say that they’re disciples of Jesus Christ but do the opposite of what He teaches. See how many people these public personalities brought to spiritual destruction. I will not be surprised if these “Christians” are the Devil’s favourite crowd.

The lesson from Jayme Jalandoni is this: if you are very public in professing your Christian faith then you have the responsibility to be more firm because the Enemy will come harder against you. Your fall means the fall of many but your victory means being the inspiration for many, and of course the victory of Christ.

2 comments:

  1. I watch PBB but when that segment played, it somehow underlined how desperate the show is to court controversy. One should never sacrifice principles just to "feed a household" because it was simply promoting prostitution: to feed your family, you might as well make use of your body, sell it to whoever is willing to pay regardless of how it's being used. It was abusive and cheap. :(

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    Replies
    1. I have the same thought about the nude challenge being similar to prostitution. What transpired is very transactional. It is like Kuya is dangling money (or food) just to make the lady go naked.

      I admire Jayme and all the other house mates who refused this challenge. Kudos also to MTRCB and Commission on Wome for taking action.

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