Have you seen the YouTube video of Susan Boyle singing on the British television show “Britain’s Got Talent?” It just unbelievably popped up by a jaw-dropping almost 60 million viewers. Ms. Boyle, an unemployed, unmarried—she said she never be kissed by a man, unattractive woman from a remote village in Scotland, is a devout Catholic who spent the last few years quietly caring for her ailing mother who recently died at the age of 91. She lives a simple life, being active in the church choir. And when she strode on the stage to sing, “I dreamed a dream,” the judges with audience visibly smirked and showed some prejudice on her poor appearance and manner of talking until she opened her mouth. She literally silenced all with her glorious voice. After the show, she has become the world star, being invited to sing before the Queen Elizabeth. What accounts for the astonishing interest in Ms. Boyle? A cheer for an unlucky person given a lucky break? Perhaps. But there may be more.
St. Paul says, “There is no partiality with God” (Rom 2,11). The way the viewers saw Susan Boyle was like the way God sees us: worthwhile, special, talented, unique, beautiful as a whole person. The world generally looks suspicious at people like Susan Boyle without classic good looks, without a job, without a spouse, living in a small town. We don’t see people like her important, either. But God sees the real person and the value of each person’s gifts: rich or poor, young or old, single or married, lucky or unlucky in life. God knows us and loves us as we are.
God shows no partiality; Jesus calls us friends regardless of our appearance, manner and ability. We don’t need to be successful to be children of God; we don’t need to be good or decent to be friends of Jesus Christ. God simply declares, “This is my beloved sons and daughters with whom I am well pleased.” This is the Gospel; this is the good news that we can hold on to the end not the words that the world keeps telling us: “You are not beautiful enough. You are not smart enough. You are not good enough.”
Susan Boyle is probably one of the lowly and despised of the world and those who count for nothing. But God calls her friend, inspiring us and giving us a valuable lesson. We are truly impressed with her talent that is one of many gifts to her from God, feeling good about us because we can relate ourselves to her, not being prominent but simple, maybe poor in some areas like her. Furthermore, she has taught us to know how often we fail to see the good things within us and others blocked by our own wrong perception. Everybody is somebody not nobody whether or not one is unpopular, unattractive, and even ugly. As Psalm 139 says, every person, no matter what his or her talents, is fearfully and wonderfully made by God.