Actor Mr. T recently shared with TBN how faith shaped his life and why he understands that not everyone will be receptive when discussing God. He told TBN, “I got to have God. See, I think about what I’ve been through being in this world and whatnot; if I didn’t have God, I wouldn’t be here. I’d be in prison; I’d be going off on people and stuff like that with people following me and taking pictures of me to get dirt on me.”
He explained, “My first instinct, I’m from the hood, I wanna jam you. You think you’re something? I’m gonna show you, you know, I’m gonna crack some heads, you know. And that’s the thing, like my brother taught me, they know I can be tough, but do they know I can be cool.” Mr. T’s IMDB shares that the actor was born in the south side of Chicago as one of 12 children. His father left when he was young, and his mother raised his family on $87 a month.
For Mr. T, the only way to keep himself from retaliation was to rely on God for strength and stay in the Word. Holding up a Bible, he said, “This here is like medicine. You know how somebody says, ‘Well, he went off, he didn’t take his medicine,’ so if I haven’t been in the Bible, it’s like I haven’t had my medicine.” However, staying in the Bible as a celebrity is challenging, especially because society typically rejects those who are open about their faith.
Rather than shy away from his faith, Mr. T embraced Christianity and even cherished moments when his faith offended others. He shared, “I came to Hollywood with Jesus. I’m not gonna disavow Jesus for somebody else’s moment. No. I’m gonna stay with God. I prayed to God. I’ve been praying to God. I ain’t [going to] stop praying to God. If it’s bothering somebody, that makes me feel good.” He joked, “My momma said, ‘Son, that’s some kind of power; you can beat a man without touching him.’ And that’s good, you know, can’t nobody sue me.”
According to Faithwire, last year, Mr. T said, “I know that my mother would be very proud because I never let fame nor success stop me from being a bold Christian!” Recognizing his influence, Mr. T vowed to use his fame to spread the gospel. He played certain characters and dressed in ways that made people let down their guard so he could share his faith with them.
Sometimes, this brought people to Christ, but often, people turned away, unwilling to hear about God or the Bible. While disheartening, Mr. T. understands it’s not his business to change hearts or minds. He told TBN, “My message is not for everyone, it’s not. Many will hear the Word, but few will head it. I always go back to Noah, God speaking to Noah. Only eight people were saved; it was his family. People looked at him and laughed. So everybody’s not gonna get it.”