Leno vs. O'brien

Dear Victorious,

What do you make of the recent NBC flap with Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien? Is there a theological angle to this?

Sven T. - Lynn, MA

Dear Sven,

What I think is that both men are incredibly lucky to live lives that are so incredibly detached from reality. News reports put Leno's net worth north of $800 million. It's reported that he lives off of his stand-up comedy work and banks all of his TV income. By any measure, he's one of the wealthiest men in television. O'Brien worked at NBC for more than 20 years. No doubt he's been paid handsomely and is vested in retirement already. With a severance package of about $32 million, it's safe to say he never has to work again. Few people are as fortunate as these men. So whether you agree with how NBC handled things are not, remember where they both landed here - job or not. (For what it's worth, I don't think O'Brien is that funny ... and am more likely to watch Leno, though I thought his prime time show was lame.)

Is there a theological angle to this? Perhaps. The Bible tells us that we are not to regard rich people any differently, we are not to idolize anyone (or anything), that we are to focus on things that are excellent and worthy of praise (this isn't) and that we're to love others as we would want to be loved. If your home was destroyed in an earthquake and you had loved ones trapped beneath the rubble while you starved to death, or if your son was just killed in Iraq, or your daughter was serving in Afghanistan ... would you want the nation to be fretting about whether or not Leno and O'Brien have been treated right by NBC?

Honestly, if we were focused on Biblical principles and God's agenda ... we wouldn't be talking about Leno or O'Brien!