Okay, I do have to say something about this because it is so dominating everything about our culture right now. And, given the age group, the “generation” I belong to, I have to share my thoughts on this…for whatever they are worth.

On my facebook page, I linked to a video by Michael Jackson for his song “Childhood”. This song made me cry. Right before watching this video, I watched another video where he spoke about his childhood – or lack therof – and how different and painful it was. I wrote the following on my facebook page:

Okay, I just watched this [attached video] and it made me cry. Mike was…ummm….eccentric? Yeah, that’s a good word…but when you think about it, and listen to him talk about his life, he didn’t have a life. Not like we do. We think his life was fabulous – fame, fortune, etc…but when I listen to this, I hear him saying he would trade it all to be able to have memories of school, friends, etc…We benefited from his musical genius and how fabulous he was as an entertainer. But WOW – he had some serious pain…which led to some of the more – er, eccentric – things he did. Not to excuse him – but to understand…

I guess what I’m seeing here is that – those things we as a culture aspire to – that fame, fortune, power, prestige – are in the end so very empty. Kind of reminds me of what is indeed important.

Michael Jackson was a part of my youth – I grew up with Michael plastered on my walls – my first adolescent crush. But oh, the price he paid to be that crush…

Michael Jackson hit his highest point of popularity around the same time I hit puberty. “Thriller” was the only thing I listened to for a long time – so much so that I snapped the tape I had of the album, and then fought with my brother about listening to the LP (ahhhh, vinyl!) until my poor parents couldn’t stand it anymore and bought me my own copy! I watched MTV every hour on the hour when the video for “Thriller” came out and memorized the entire dance sequence (and yes, I can still do it!!). I was, well, a big fan…understatement of the year…

I can look back on that time and crack up at how silly I was. Looking at his life from a different vantage point though gives me pause to consider more deeply the things I mentioned in that facebook post. Things much weightier than getting the next issue of  Tigerbeat with the new poster for my wall…

My geeky, philosophical self starts pondering things of deeper and greater signficance – like, how can someone who seemingly “had it all” become such a reclusive, sad, tragic figure? Well, because he didn’t “have it all” after all…he didn’t have that which truly matters. Ecclesiastes 5:15 says the following:

Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand.

I recognize that none of the accolades, achievements or honors mean much in the end. He cannot take them with him, and he cannot point to them when he stands before the Lord. They didn’t even bring him peace while he was alive. I am grateful for the common grace that was bestowed upon him in the enormous talent he had and how he shared it with the world. And, since I do not know him,  I will not begin to imply I know his heart…but, what I am saying is I must keep all his earthly accolades in proper perspective – in the end, they profit him nothing.

How depressing, right?

But, can we be serious in how we contemplate his death? Or even Farrah Fawcett’s death…or Ed McMahon’s death…or any other famous person who dies? Or any person period who dies? What about the nine people who died in the transit accident in Washington DC? Or the men and women who are dying in the protests in Iran? Or in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? What is the true hope? What is the one thing that would bring meaning to any of these things? What truly profits us in the end?

It is only knowing that when we depart from this life we enter the presence of the Living God – that we are present with the Lord. So what is “indeed important”? Living a life that pleases God – which means, first and foremost recognizing that Christ alone is our hope for salvation. His death is the atonement for our sin against a holy God. His resurrection gives us hope for eternal glory with God…but only if we call on Him in repentance and faith and place our trust, our hope, our faith in Him and Him alone.

That is what is “indeed important”…