Jeremy Lin continues to make headlines not just about basketball but also about his newest short-video posted August 14th titled “You’ve Changed Bro,” which is a funny reflection of how fame has changed some things in his life, where he started from, and a message pointing his fans to God’s truth.
In less than 48 hours, the video has received over 1.5 million views on Youtube, and has been picked up by media across the web.
As customary with his other short videos, Lin has selected a Bible verse as the message that he wants to send off. It is from Romans 12:2, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.”
Lin grew up in a middle-class family in Palo Alto, Calif. His road into the NBA was characterized by times of great frustration for not getting scholarships from Stanford or UCLA, although he led his high school team to state championship. At Harvard, he became the team captain and led his school to unprecedented heights in the NCAA tournaments, but even that fall short to getting drafted by the NBA. In the NBA, he was let go from Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, and then finally filled the bench on the Knicks in New York. Yet, Lin’s performance in the eight-game winning streak brought his name into the international spotlight overnight.
Now, Lin is earning roughly $5 million in annual salary, and his sponsorship contracts with sports, cars, television shows, drinks, businesses, and food give him additional income that exceeds his salary for playing basketball. That means he is getting paid over $10 million per year.
Yet, where did he sleep on the verge of the “Linsanity” outbreak? He was sleeping on his brother’s living room couch. The video showed Lin saying that if you want to start something start from the bottom up, which is a reflection of Lin’s attribute of humility as a sports player.
The four-minute-long video featured his older brother Josh Lin scolding Lin for wanting to get the bed instead of the couch. Other scenes showed his old friends saying that he has changed over things like not practicing enough Guitar Hero, working out with Steve Nash over middle school buddy, and then making lay-ups with his left-hand, a change that even James Harden was shocked at and dismayed.
Lin’s video mixed together the changes in his life that he may not have noticed and the changes that he is intentionally making to become better at what he does. These changes were itched with a Sparkie black marker on his right arm in tattoo of Chinese word “change.” Yet, even this change was too much for his mom to bear. When Lin walked into the kitchen as his mom was cooking, and as soon as she saw the tattoo, she raised her spatula and just as she was about to spat Lin on the arm the video went black.
Through Lin’s parody of his real life experiences since Linsanity, the moral of the short video is that no matter how this world defines success and fame and expects one to conform to the pattern of its behaviors and customs, one should set their eyes on the truth of God’s word, which is the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. One’s thoughts and actions should reveal faith, hope, and love, revealed through speech and action.
In a Facebook post, Lin thanked Jubilee Project, Ryan Higga, and his family for their help in making the video.
As of now, the superstar is in Taiwan, participating in a series of charity, sponsorship, and evangelistic activities and events. He has arrived on the 14th and finished participating in charity activities on the 15th. On the 16th and 17th, Lin will participate in brand sponsorship activities, and then on the 18th to 20th, he and his teammate Chandler Parsons will co-lead a basketball camp for Taiwanese high school and college students. On the night of 18th, he will be sharing his life testimony to 18,000 people at the “Dream Big, Be Yourself” Night of Youth conference held in Taipei auditorium. He is scheduled to depart Taiwan on 21st for China.
