For our “Messiah” obsessed culture, Ms. Oprah Winfrey reigned supreme for more than two decades. And like most messiahs, I don’t believe Oprah necessarily wanted to carry the mantle. She simply had a desire to help people, and to impart a message of self-awareness and one’s possibility to change for the better. No, this was not a new message, by any means. Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, and many others carried with them the same message. Oprah simply had the most powerful medium in human history to share this message, and she did not squander a single moment of it!
An unfortunate focal point of “Messiah Worship” is the followers desire to be saved by this person. Although I’m sure their are legions of Oprah devotees that would disagree with me, Oprah didn’t save anyone. Instead, Oprah taught you how to save yourself! A true messiah doesn’t speak upon that which they haven’t experienced first hand. Oprah demonstrated, in front of millions, the ability, as well as the struggle, to save one’s self…to transform one’s self. Ms. Winfrey was a notorious yo-yo dieter. And although she has gone through more changes in clothes sizes than Kristie Ally has buckets of chicken (sorry Kristie), at least Oprah tried and continues to do so.
Having your own number one syndicated television program and millions of fans is probably a wonderful sensation, and feeds the ego in ways that are impossible to explain. But I have the feeling Oprah’s greatest sense of accomplishment has come from having the ability to touch people’s lives. If there’s anything we should take away from her example, it’s that true fulfillment occurs while being in the service to others!
