Why Marriage Matters

Why Marriage Matters

Michael Jackson and my daughter

It's been funny and concerning to watch my daughter deal with Michael Jackson's passing. My daughter is a senior at a prestigious Christian university in California. She grew up a huge MJ fan and loved listening and dancing to his music with her friends. I think when they had "mock rocks" in high school, her and her friends would do MJ stuff. My daughter is also a fairly mature believer in Christ (at least for being 20!) I called her the night I heard that MJ died and of course she had already heard. It's funny because she said I've been crying for hours!? Her and a few friends got together that night and watched MJ video's and a movie, and all cried together. She is in the LA area so her and a few friends went to MJ's spot at the hollywood walk of fame. Tonight they are at "neverland" the MJ property in Santa Barbara for some memorial service. I guess I worry a little bit by her over reaction (my opinion) to this whole MJ thing. I mean the guy didn't appear to lead a life of integrity. At best he was a strange dude, and at worst, he was much worse. He did not appear to be a believer or follower of Jesus, grew up in a cult, and supposedly converted to Islam a few years ago. So obviously I'm a bit bummed about my daughter's kind of strange obsession with his passing. She is young though, and as a Dad I don't want to be critical or "preachy" to her about this. So I leave it alone! It's all very bizarre behavior, and not just for my daughter though. In the midst of some of the greatest problems we will ever face as a nation......the economy, Iran's crushing of it's own people, Iraq, Afghanistan etc. etc., all we here about is Michael Jackson. Is that even "news" I heard a figure that 60% of the new coverage for the day of, and the rest of the week of MJ's death was about MJ. That's prime time news coverage and that doesn't include all the hour and two hour specials about his life. What is this bizzare fascination we seem to have with celebrities? We are a nation that is far more concerned with an individuals death, who has been accused of child molestation, who changed his skin color, struggled with drug addiction, etc. etc.s then the extremely important challenges that our nation is facing right now. It makes you wonder, is there really any hope for the United States. Are we like the many empire's of the past who fell because they became so bizzare sexually, they focused only on themselves and their own comfort that their empire crumbled around them. So anyways enough of my soapbox. I'll pray for MJ's family, and the children he adopted who were conceived by his Doctor and the Doctor's nurse, and lets also pray for all those who seemed to worship MJ as some kind of hero. You see we have a real hero. We have Jesus, and if we understood at all what he's done for us, any hero worship of humans would immedietly cease. So maybe this is a conversation starter, to talk about what really is important and about who really has done something for us. My confidence in this nation has long since past. I do pray for this nation that my children and grandchildren will live in, but I also know that we are merely strangers, and sojourners in this land. My citizenship is in God's kingdom, and I am an alien here.