Committed Christian Mark Wahlberg won’t ‘jam faith down anybody’s throat’
Mark Walhberg wants to share his faith with people but won’t “jam it down anybody’s throat”.
The ‘Father Stu’ actor admitted discussing his Christian beliefs requires a “balance” between acknowledging how important it is to him and how it has helped him become a better person, and not forcing his ideals on anyone else.
Appearing on TV show ‘Today’, he said: “It’s a balance. I don’t wanna jam it down anybody’s throat, but I do not deny my faith.
“That’s an even bigger sin. You know, it’s not popular in my industry, but, you know, I cannot deny my faith. It’s important for me to share that with people.
“But I have friends from all walks of life and all different types of faiths and religions, so it’s important to respect and honor them as well.£
Asked what his faith means to him, he added: “It’s everything, it’s afforded me so many things.
“God didn’t come to save the saints, he came to save the sinners. We’ve all had issues in our lives and we want to be better versions of ourselves, and through focusing [on] my faith, it’s allowed me to do that.”
The 51-year-old actor – who has Ella, 19, Michael, 17, Brendan, 14, and Grace, 13, with wife Rhea Durham – won’t “force” his faith on his children either because he doesn’t want to cause any “resentment”, though he hopes his devotion to his beliefs will inspire them.
He said: “I want them to gravitate to it in a very natural way. I want them to understand that Dad has to start the day by getting on his hands and his knees, and no matter where I am, the priority on Sunday is to go to church; so to be able to do those things and just see them — hopefully, they will say, ‘Well, okay, there’s got to be something there’ and let them do it on their own.”
Mark also spoke of the importance of the 40-day lent period and how intermittent fasting helps him forge a sense of “discipline” in his life.
He said: “There are challenges for fasting; like today, I won’t have any meat, I’ll have one meal today, and I will do that every Friday throughout Lent and Good Friday — but just challenging people to be better versions of themselves.
“There are many different elements to fasting, and I think the important thing to understand is — and first of all, if you have issues with food, there are other things — God knows the things that he wants you to detach from.
“I just think it gives me — discipline has always been important for me in life. Once I started getting in movies and transitioned from music, I realised I needed a lot of discipline in my life, and that discipline has afforded me so many other things, and I have been rewarded for it so much, and I want to share that with people.”
