The past week has been a busy one, news wise; and some of the stories give us something worth thinking about. Bear with me as we look at a few of the stories and make some spiritual applications.
Celebrity Deaths. Johnny Carson's famous sidekick, Ed McMahon; 1970s television star Farrah Fawcett; and pop music star Michael Jackson all died this past week. Their deaths made the news [some more than others, of course]; and in the coming days and weeks, we are likely to hear story after story about their lives. We'll see that these three celebrities led very different lives from one another. But the common thread [beyond their celebrity status] is that they all died, and their fame and wealth [or, in one case, lack of it] did nothing to prevent that.
But that comes as no surprise to those of us who believe the Bible is God's word. Long ago, the writer of Hebrews said, "it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment." (Hebrews 9:27) Every person--rich or poor, celebrity, or just a nobody--will face that inevitable day. And it matters not how wealthy we may be materially, those riches do nothing to prevent death from coming to us. The psalmist reminded us, "Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, that he should live on forever and never see the pit." (Psalm 49:7-9) Oh, we may delay death if we are wealthy enough to pay the doctors, but it will come.
But the psalmist also spoke to the foolishness of those who remain. He went on to write, "He sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names. Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish. This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts." (Psalm 47:10-13) We should note that such thinking is called "foolish confidence," and that many never learn the lesson, continuing to approve of that way of life and thinking, though they witness its failure.
At one time, Michael Jackson was a billionaire who pretty much had or bought whatever material possession he wanted. But from all reports, he was an unhappy man who withdrew from society because of the stress placed on him by his fame and the reality that many people wanted to use him for their own selfish purposes. Though he could see other peoples' pathetic clamor for his material wealth was wrongheaded, he failed to see that his attempts to find happiness in material things were just as wrong. We do not yet know how wealthy Michael Jackson was when he died, but we do know this: He took none of it with him. Of that we can be sure, no matter how wealthy or how poor a person may be. Again, the Bible tells us, "we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world." (1 Timothy 6:7) And let us hear more words from the psalmist regarding the rich man: "When he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him." (Psalm 49:17) Not only did Jackson leave his wealth behind, he also left his fame and glory. Glory doesn't follow one to the grave, and it will be meaningless when we stand before God and Christ in judgment, because God does not show partiality (Acts 10:34).
Politicians and Scandal. Once again, a politician has revealed that he has been having an affair with a woman who is not his wife. South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford admitted this past week that he had not [as he told his staff members] been on an Appalachian Trail hike "to clear his head" after the end of a recent session. He had flown to Argentina to meet with a woman with whom he had been having an affair over the past few months. There has been an uproar over his deception, and the consequences of leaving the country without turning the state's leadership over to other political leaders; but there's actually been little discussion of, or shock at, the fact that yet another politician who trumpeted family values and moral leadership did not practice what he preached. Maybe we, as a society, are simply no longer shockable.
I cannot argue against the apparent blase response of many people because there have been far too many such revelations lately, but I do want to point out that we hold these men in far too high esteem. God's word told us long ago, "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes." (Psalm 118:8, 9) Far too many people, including some who profess faith in Christ, seem to be putting too much trust in princes [political leaders] to save them from the perils of our immoral society when, in reality, many of those leaders are a part of that same society.
Are we as God's people of old who, in their time of trouble [because of their sin], sought help from men, rather than God (cf. Isaiah 30:1, 2; 31:1-3)? If so [and it appears many think this way], then we can expect the same result--failure. Instead of looking to the next up-and-coming political leader to rise up and turn this country back to God, it would be better if we all started making a bigger impact on the world around us by speaking up and teaching our neighbors about God's superior moral standard and then show them by living it. We will achieve far greater success in changing this country's direction by teaching God's way and living as God would have us live than by foolishly resting our hope in some form of government intervention.
The Ark of the Covenant. Did you know the Ark of the Covenant still exists? It does, according to Patriarch Abuna Pauolos, leader of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. According to one man who is following the story, it is being held there "secretly, waiting in the eyes of the religious leaders of Israel, for a supernatural signal from God to rebuild the temple," and, "When that happens, they will bring the Ark into that temple." [Grant Jeffrey, host of TBN's Bible Prophecy Revealed] Others argue against the Ethiopian story because it would mean a replica has been in the Jerusalem temple since the days of Solomon, and God would not have come down to a false mercy seat. I would agree with that argument, but further expectations that God would come down to wherever the real Ark may be are completely unfounded--at least if you put your trust in Scripture.
God no longer speaks to man as He did during the Old Testament era; now He "has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world." (Hebrews 1:1, 2) Any stories that appeal to the existence of the original Ten Commandments [the second copy, actually] and the hope that it points to God's presence and interaction with man as He interacted in the days of Moses are nothing more than wild speculation, and contrary to plain Scripture. No longer are God's people literal, blood descendants of Abraham; they are Abraham's spiritual descendants--those "who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had." (Romans 4:12)
To argue for obedience to the Ten Commandments is to argue against obeying the words of Jesus Christ, our Savior. The Ten Commandments were not given to us; in the last day, we will be judged by the words of Jesus Christ (John 12:47, 48).
As a student of the Bible, I would certainly be interested in knowing what happened to the Ark, but no more than that. If the tablets were still inside, they would say what is written in our Bibles, and it would have no more authority than anything else under the Old Law. We must follow Christ.
These events are now some weeks/months old, but they were recent when brother Harper wrote this article. As I read the article, I could not help marveling at all the coverage the deaths of famous people muster from our media outlets. I was out of town in a lectureship when Michael Jackson died. He was on television for almost two days non-stop! They showed all of his old videos, played his music, discussed the scandals that surrounded his life, showed his body being flown to the coroner's office, and of course, the outpouring of sympathy from his fans all around the world.
All this just shows what the public demands in our country--to know every detail of tragedy that befalls another human being. Sadly, what the masses have forgotten is that from all the information available, we know that Mr. Jackson was not a religious man, and that he was not a Christian. How sad that he died suddenly, unprepared to meet His judge. This makes his death an even sadder occasion and adds to the grief of those who understand God's word. We know that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11) and neither should we. All of Michael Jackson's money, fame, and accomplishments cannot help him where he is now. As brother Harper correctly stated, wealth helps no one, no matter how little or how much he may have.
Sadly, scandals among the men and woman in the political arena have become common occurrences. Even if they get by with their immorality here (and most will not because of the media), God knows about it, and He will judge those who fail to repent. I can't help thinking about Mr. Sanford's four sons. According to what I've read, his affair may have spanned a period of more than eight years.
This is not something that just happens to politicians. We all know the dangers involved and that this has been a problem, even in the Lord's church. People can make mistakes, realize it, repent, and change their behavior. But when something like this goes on in a marriage for multiple years, and the person repents and shows remorse only because someone caught him in the act, we must question whether the behavior would have stopped if his wife had not become aware of it. We need to be cautious and heed God's wisdom on this subject-no one is above temptation in this area. We all know elders, deacons, preachers, and other Christians who have been caught up in this sin and destroyed their lives and marriages.
How does it happen? Truly, one fault that runs through this sin is allowing the temptation to get into our heads. "But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matthew 5:28) Let us guard our hearts and be careful about the situations in which we place ourselves so we avoid having this sin creep into our lives. In Hollywood, it is accepted behavior, and most people just come to expect it. Soap operas are not real life, and God's people must live above the world's standards and conduct. May God help us to heed His warning. (KMG)