Singer/songwriter Justin Bieber, who recently re-dedicated his life to Christ, has a stern message for fans: Don't idolize celebrities, because they're not God.
In a recent interview with The Mirror, the 21-year-old "Sorry" singer opened up about the dangers of worshiping people like himself instead of the One who truly deserves praise.
"I would really suggest to people, 'Don't put your faith in me,'" he said, "Because I'm gonna disappoint you every time. Yeah. It's scary. But I want them to know that I'm not going to be able to solve their problems... I'm not that higher power. I'll never be. I'm not perfect. I've made so many mistakes. I just want to get to a place where... I just want people to know humans aren't meant to be worshiped. We're just not. So when a human is being worshiped, this is dangerous. 'Cause it does nothing but give you pride."
Bieber was famously baptized by Hillsong Church pastor Carl Lentz in 2014, and now frequently speaks about his Christian faith. However, in the time prior to his conversion, the singer made headlines for his bad behavior, including egging his neighbor's house, using illegal drugs, spending time with prostitutes, and abandoning his pet monkey in Germany.
"I was rebelling against the world. I started to believe the hype and was acting a certain way. I was just being a jerk," he told The Mirror regarding his past actions. "I got so involved in 'me me me'. You're young, people are telling you you're great all the time and you start believing it. It became Justin Bieber, reality star, rather than the musician...I just found myself in a place I didn't want to be."
In an earlier interview with GQ Magazine, Bieber credited his newfound faith with saving him from being a "terrible" person.
"I feel like that's why I have a relationship with Him, because I need it. I suck by myself," he said. "If I was doing this on my own, I would constantly be doing things that are, I mean, I still am doing things that are stupid, but... It just gives me some sort of hope and something to grasp onto, and a feeling of security, and a feeling of being wanted, and a feeling of being desired, and I feel like we can only get so much of that from a human."
Bieber's longtime manager, Scooter Braun, echoed the singer's sentiments during a recent interview with the New York Times, where he revealed that he believes God saved Bieber from certain death. "As I started to see it going in the wrong direction, I started to prepare. I put deals in place where he was protected for the long run," Braun said. "And I started to prepare my company to scale, because I was not going to let him work. [After Journals, Bieber's 2013 digital compilation,] he wanted to tour, and I honestly at that time felt, if he toured, he could die."
Although thankful he is a new creation in Christ, Bieber admits he is still a work in progress: "There's so much I need to work on," he told The Mirror. "And I'm still getting days where I'm depressed and upset. But I know that I'm not where I used to be. So that really keeps me motivated. I'm not where I wanna be. That's kind of a cool little slogan I've been living by."
