Susan Boyle Teaches Us A Lesson

On April 11, 2009, viewers of Britain's Got Talent were treated to what one of the show's judges called "the biggest surprise... in three years on the show." What they saw was a 47-year-old woman that didn’t have the physical qualities of the stereotypical star. She didn’t appear to have the grace or eloquence of a singer on the national stage. As if that wasn’t enough strikes against her, Susan Boyle dared to openly express a dream to become a professional singer in the vein of Elaine Paige. Before the first note of the song was heard, the book was judged by its’ cover.

We see this pre-judging all of the time and probably to a certain extent, we have done the same thing. It may not be a person’s lack of beauty; it could be their skin color, their accent or speech, their waist size, their height or lack there of. We make judgment calls every day often without having all the facts before us. Britain’s Got Talent judges, Simon Cowell and Piers Morgan seem to have made their decision during Ms. Boyle’s introduction. To her credit, the third panelist Amanda Holden appeared to be more neutral before the performance. Those in the audience even seemed to be preparing for the worst. Then the music started, and a beautiful voice began to fill the venue. A voice that certainly could not be coming from the one on the stage… it didn’t fit. Oh, but it was Susan Boyle, revealing a talent that no one thought possible, except for the singer herself. After the first line of the song, the faces of the judges and audience members transformed from shock and awe, to sheer delight as the auditorium filled with cheers of support, and maybe, even admiration.

I think panelist Amanda Holden summarized the experience best when she said, "I am so thrilled, because I know that everybody was against you, I honestly think that we were all being very cynical, and I think that's the biggest wake-up call ever."

The question I ask is “why was everyone against her?” The answer is most people think that “beauty = talent”, especially when it comes to females. Of course, deep-down we know that is not always the case. Susan Boyle proved that physical beauty is not needed to have true talent. The problem is we don’t always take the time to look for the talent if the “packaging” isn’t pretty. I am glad that Ms. Boyle was afforded the opportunity to prove herself and to prove us wrong.

I’m very glad that our place in eternity is not based upon us being in a pretty or perfect package. The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that we all fall short of the glory of God. We will not be judged on how pretty we are or by what status we have achieved in society. In the book of Acts (10:34-35), Peter says that God shows “no partiality”. I’m grateful that we are now live in the “Dispensation of Grace”. In fact, if we were still under the “Dispensation of Law”, I would not be allowed to minister before the Lord because I am a dwarf and blind in one eye (Leviticus 21:16-20).

Jesus Christ provides the only way to salvation (John 14:6). This “way” is not determined by our looks, talent, works, finances or any other thing, but by way of the Cross.

I have embedded the video of Susan Boyle singing I Dreamed A Dream from Les Misérables below. Even if you have seen it, you may be like me, and watch it again and again. In fact, the last count I’ve seen is over 40,000,000 views of the various clips that are on YouTube alone. I must admit that it moved me to tears. I guess deep down we all root for the “underdog”. Now, if we would be just as excited about sharing Jesus Christ with others…

NOTE: Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? For more information visit “Do you know?"


Susan Boyle from Chris Yehuda Zimmerman on Vimeo.