Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington told a men’s conference in Orlando, FL over the weekend what God has been telling him to do and it doesn’t have anything to do with the entertainment industry.
The Christian Post (CP) reports Washington was a featured speaker at “The Better Man Event” hosted by First Baptist Orlando. During a discussion with Pastor A.R. Bernard, the senior pastor of the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn, New York, Washington revealed a message he says he’s hearing from God.
“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 honor 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,” the actor and New York native said.
During the half-hour interview on stage, Washington said he hears God telling him what to do every time he prays.
“In every prayer, all I hear is: ‘Feed my sheep.’ That’s what God wants me to do,” Washington said. He admitted to the audience that his response is, “What’s that mean?” But he went on to explain, “What I found out in the last couple of years is there are all kinds of sheep. So that’s why I talk to experienced shepherds to help guide me.”
The actor noted that the world has changed, asking the church men’s conference, “What is our role as a man?”
“The John Wayne formula is not quite a fit right now,” he explained. “But strength, leadership, power, authority, guidance, patience are God’s gift to us as men. We have to cherish that, not abuse it.”
The actor also wanted the conference to know he’s not the same man that they see up on the silver screen, according to the CP.
“What I played in the movies is not who I am, it’s what I played,” he stressed. “I’m not going to sit or stand on any pedestal and tell you about what I had in mind for you or your soul. Because the fact of the matter is, in the whole 40-year process, I was struggling for my own soul.”
“It (the Bible) says in the last days we’ll become lovers of ourselves,” Washington pointed out. “The number one photograph now is a selfie. So we all want to lead. We’re willing to do anything—ladies and young men—to be influential.”
“Fame is a monster and we all have these ladders and battles, roads we have to walk in our given lives,” he added. “Be you famous or whoever’s out there listening, we all have our individual challenges.”
Washington also shared how he thinks Christian men should seek success. The first thing he said is to “stay on your knees.”
“Stay on your knees. Watch me, but listen to God,” he said. “I hope that the words in my mouth and the meditation of my heart are pleasing in God’s sight, but I’m human. I’m just like you. What I have will not keep me on this Earth for one more day. Share what you know, inspire who you can, seek advice. If you want to talk to one someone, talk to the one that can do something about it. Constantly develop those habits.” {eoa}
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