Is Your King Dead? 6-28-09
This last week the world was shocked by the death of fifty-year old music icon Michael Jackson. Jackson was a mainstay of my generation, having risen to prominence in the late 1970’s, and was credited with having been a fundamental influence on the MTV culture. He was raised in a music-entertainment oriented family, lived a bizarrely scandal-clad life, and died under suspiciously controversial circumstances. In the wake of the reporting on his death, many disturbing comments are being made:
“This is the day the music died”
“I have lost meaning in my life”
“The King is dead”
This hero worship is nothing new; Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, and Kurt Cobain all had large followings. And I am sure that similar rhetoric was used to describe these icons as well. But with Michael Jackson, this worship seems even more perverse in light of how much his shocking behavior was displayed for all of us to see. It seems to be a sign of our times to ignore all of the glaring problems in a person’s character, simply to pay homage to that person’s popularity.
How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds I will make myself like the Most High.” But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit. (Isaiah 14:12-15 NIV)
This was God’s response to the hubris of the King of Babylon. It is not the only verse dealing with the subject of man’s pride! In fact, one of the principle themes of the Bible is the predisposition of man to worship anything and everything except the Creator. Our society is just as susceptible to this form of idolatry as past generations. We seem to want to place our trust in man, rather than in God.
For all can see that wise men die; the foolish and the senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others. Their tombs will remain their houses forever, their dwellings for endless generations, though they had named lands after themselves. But man, despite his riches, does not endure; he is like the beasts that perish. This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings. (Psalm 49:10-13 NIV)
No matter what we do here, we will all die. Rich or poor, healthy or sick, athletic or obese, we are appointed only a short while. But in that short time we will either accept Jesus or reject him. And that decision will affect eternity.
“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ “ (Luke 16:22-26 NIV)
The rich man wasn’t in torment because he had to “make up for having been comfortable,” but rather he was paying the price of not having seen to the needs of Lazarus when he was in need. So trusting in our wealth or power is foolish; trusting in someone else’s wealth or power is even more foolish. Yet people are doing just that when they build a cult of personality about a person.
Michael Jackson was a talented, if very troubled, entertainer; but he was only a man. He lived for himself and he died for himself. But the real King is not dead; Jesus Christ came to this world for us, he died for us, and he arose to eternal life for us. The King is alive and is calling all of us into his court; let us not be late in responding!
-Charles Peterson