Originally published in The Christian Post
Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington has opened up about the spiritual aspect of his Christian faith and highlighted the importance of having an “anchor” in an ever-changing culture.
Washington is gearing up for the release of his new film Macbeth, and in an in-depth interview with The New York Times, the actor and his co-stars talked about his Christian faith.
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The famous actor, who described himself as “a God-fearing man,” talked about God, the Bible and Heaven in the interview. He also revealed that he made a promise to his late mother to “honour her and God.”
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“What I do, what I make, what I made — all of that — is that going to help me on the last day of my life? It’s about, Who have you lifted up? Who have we made better?” he told the NYT.
“This is spiritual warfare. So, I’m not looking at it from an earthly perspective. If you don’t have a spiritual anchor you’ll be easily blown by the wind and you’ll be led to depression,” he added.
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The Oscar-winning actor then lamented what he said is a self-obsessed society.
“The enemy is the inner me,” he continued. “The Bible says in the last days — I don’t know if it’s the last days, it’s not my place to know — but it says we’ll be lovers of ourselves. The number one photograph today is a selfie, ‘Oh, me at the protest.’ ‘Me with the fire.’ ‘Follow me.’ ‘Listen to me.’
“We’re living in a time where people are willing to do anything to get followed. What is the long or short-term effect of too much information? It’s going fast and it can be manipulated obviously in a myriad of ways. And people are led like sheep to slaughter,” Washington said.
The entertainer then shared his view of Heaven, explaining that “there are going to be two lines, the long line and the short line, and I’m interested in being in the short line.”
The New York native encouraged the interviewee, The Times’ columnist Maureen Dowd, to read the Bible. He suggested that she “start with the New Testament, because the Old Testament is harder.”
“You get caught up in the ‘who-begot-who-begot-who thing,'” he said.
Washington later revealed how he “fills up” spiritually every morning before starting his day.
“You have to fill up that bucket every morning,” he said. “It’s rough out there. You leave the house in the morning. Here they come, chipping away. By the end of the day, you’ve got to refill that bucket. We know right from wrong.”
While at “The Better Man Event” hosted by First Baptist Orlando in Florida in September, Washington revealed what the Lord has been telling him to do when he prays in this season.
“At 66, getting ready to be 67, having just buried my mother, I made a promise to her and to God, not just to do good the right way, but to honour my mother and my father by the way I live my life, the rest of my days on this Earth. I’m here to serve, to help, to provide,” Washington said at the Christian men’s conference.
During the nearly 30-minute sit-down discussion, Washington shared what he hears from God with his spiritual mentor, Pastor AR Bernard, the senior pastor of the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, New York.
“In every prayer, all I hear is: ‘Feed my sheep.’ That’s what God wants me to do,” the Fences actor shared.
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