Last night the news media was in a frenzy over the deaths of two celebrities on the same day, Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. Another celebrity who died in the last few days was Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson's sidekick for many years. Life passes and so do those we know.
I do wish that we would remember those of less worldly importance and celebrate the great lives of the unknown. It would be an amazing thing to see the obituary of someone no one knew highlighted simply because of their godly life. Imagine this on the evening news:
Mary Wilson, 84, died last night after a long battle with cancer. She was a wonderful Christian woman who serve God and other people her whole life. She was married to her husband, Harold, for more than 60 years until he died three years ago. Mary was loved by all who knew her, but she spent most of her life in rural Kansas and rarely traveled. Her goal in life was to imitate and serve her Lord. Everyone who knew her loved her dearly and she influenced hundreds of children over the decades as a Sunday school teacher and public school teacher. She will be greatly missed by those who knew her.
Of course this kind of life is rarely celebrated. For the tastes of the world it's too bland, too boring, but to live a godly life and leave this kind of commentary behind would be exciting to me. Imagine, living for the Lord and serving him....what more could you do to influence and impact eternity?
So, as the media outlets spend the next few days on the lives of celebrities I wait for the day when all of heaven will celebrate great lives never mentioned in the news. I wait for the day when God will highlight lives that REALLY made a difference.
7 comments:
Well said, Mike.
Mike, do a search on Coach Ed Thomas of Parkersburg, IA who was killed this week. He had 4 players go on to the NFL and one of them had this to say about him:
"His legacy for many will be associated with his tremendous success as a football coach," said Green Bay Packers linebacker Aaron Kampman. "However, I believe his greatest legacy comes not in how many football games he won or lost but in the fact that he was a committed follower of Jesus Christ." (http://www.kcci.com/news/19844124/detail.html)
Natalie Hite
Michael Jackson DID do much for people. he was a first class humanitarian and his art shows he was a sensative, caring, and loving person. Just because he is a celebrity doesnt mean he isnt as important as a random christian living in iowa or wherever. we should respect the dead and realize that just becasue they didnt sit at the front pew each sunday that their lives had major positive impact in this world. MJ has done more for starving, underprivledged children than all of us combined. dont let your disdain for celebrities cloud your mind of the true love he showed the world.
frank
Frank,
I did not speak to what Michael did or didn't do. I spoke to the world's focus on a personality. The world's values vs. what God values. I'm sorry you missed my point.
I think God values what Michael jackson did very much, and so should we. The vibe of your post was that "normal" poeple dont get any crdeit for their service like celebrities do. That may be true to some degree, although they do operate on a larger scale than someone who never left kansas. did you ever hear "we are the children", whcih brought millions of dollars and awareness to starving african children? thats a pretty big deal relative to teaching sunday school. Hence, his life was on a larger scale, and so is his death.
i still think if you were honest with your feelings you would reckognize your post had some "i am tired of these celebrities getting all the attention" angst.
Thats what i see anyway but you probably dont care about what i think.
Frank
Frank,
You said,
"i still think if you were honest with your feelings you would reckognize your post had some "i am tired of these celebrities getting all the attention" angst."
That's not at all what I was saying or feeling. And please don't read emotion into my comments that is not there. Again, I was not talking about Michael Jackson, my comments were not focused on him or his life. Please ready my post again. You are missing my point, dear friend, and you are reading words and emotions into my post that are not there.
"Thats what i see anyway but you probably dont care about what i think."
I do care what you think. That's why I'm discussing this topic with you.
Again, please note that my post was not about Michael Jackson, it was about what the world/culture values vs. what God values. Please don't read more into it than that. Thanks for your comments, Frank.
How can you say it had nothing to do with MJ when you specifically mention him and his recent death? By saying this, you are using him as an illustration to your point of "what god values vs what the word values".
There are two issues with this.
1. There are better ways to illustrate your concept besides bringing up recently deceased poeple, which i think it rather distasteful.
2. Please take ownership of your comments instead of saying "oh i didnt mean that, you are taking it wrong." when clearly, you called them by name, you mentioned their deaths, and then you contrasted them to others.
frank
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