If Only I was Rich, Famous, Successful?
I don’t about the rest of the world, but there seems to be
such a drive here in the United
States toward success as defined by wealth,
fame, popularity and/or power. It comes
out in the forms of the “if onlys”…..if only I had more money, if only I could
get that lucky break, if only I could be on stage giving that concert, if only
I could play professional sports. It
kind of sums up in the form of “If only my life was as easy or wonderful as all
these famous people we see in the movies and on the television.” The assumption is that when these “if onlys”
turn into realities, I would be happy, fulfilled, have no more problems, find
life easy and meaningful. But, really?
The news broke with another tragic end of a famous person
the other day, with the apparent suicide of Mindy McCready, a country music
singer from down in Arkansas . This on the heels of the murder of the model
Reeva Steenkamp with her boyfriend, Olympic star Oscar Pistorius charged as the
killer. While Major League Baseball
passes over names for the Hall of Fame due to the use of steroids and Lance
Armstrong is stripped of honors for the same.
They all sound so happy, so successful, such easy wonderful lives, don’t
you think?
No, fame, wealth, power and popularity are not all they are
purported to be. Partly because even the
people that have them, are still just people.
Regular people, with regular struggles, as well as other struggles that
come with the things they have acquired.
Too many of us are pursuing illusions that promise happiness and
fulfillment, but can only provide emptiness and hardship. Now, don’t get me wrong, any of those success
attributes can be a good thing, and can be used to accomplish a lot of
good. And, I believe it is important
that we DO strive to be and do our best, as I believe only our best is honoring
to God. But true happiness and meaning
in life has more to do with what is within us, than external trappings like
what we have, where we live, or whether society considers us successful.
I want to think about Mindy McCready. It is truly a sad thing when a person as
talented and apparently well loved by people as this woman was. I don’t know her, am not a country music fan,
so am not going to be speaking about her life as if I know her. Like many of you, I only know what I have
read and heard in the news. It seems
she’s had some troubled relationships in her life. Lots of people have these problems, and they
are hard, they break your heart. They
report at one time, she had been engaged, and then that relationship
ended. Those of you who have been
divorced know two things about that: 1)
you know how hard it is to lose someone you love so dearly; 2) you know that,
hard as it is, it is better to have a broken engagement than to marry and end
in divorce. It would be interesting to
know how many divorce/broken engagements lead to suicidal behaviors. It is certainly an extremely trying time in
life.
In regard to Mindy, the news also says that her recent
boyfriend committed suicide himself not long ago, and she was in deep grief
over that…..and who wouldn’t be? That is
a tragically tough thing to experience, and now her loved ones are experiencing the same thing. Finally, they reported that she has spent
some time in rehab, and has had some other difficulties since her boyfriend’s
death. All these things apparently
overwhelmed her to the point that she just could not take it anymore. Or, sometimes, people commit suicide
believing that, in so doing, they will join the loved one they miss. Sad.
Tragically sad.
Might I suggest that her hardships and tragic death can
remind us that all these things beckoning to us promising happiness and easy
lives are simply not the answers we need in life. If they were, she would never have had the
problems she had. I would suggest that
what matters is what it is we hang on to for meaning in life, and what we turn
to when we need help in times of hardship.
Perhaps for poor Mindy she invested too much of her life’s meaning in
other people, like her boyfriend who died.
Perhaps in her hardship, she turned to those prescription drugs or
whatever other things she needed rehab from to get her through.
As I said, I don’t know her personal life, so cannot speak
for sure, yet one can’t help but wonder whether things might have been
different if she had more actively sought the help she needed at the feet of
Christ. It is possible she tried, but
didn’t feel like she got the answers she needed…..that happens to even the best
of us at times. But it is at that point
we must persist, continuing to seek God through His word and His people, until
God comes and meets those needs. You
know, it is in those hardest of times that God will give us the greatest
strength and the deepest meaning…..if we honestly and diligently give Him that
opportunity. It is possible Mindy did
try, I am not saying she didn’t. But it
is clear she also let other things cloud up her life to help her get by, rather
than following Christ in obedience and self-discipline. What is even more sad is that, because she
apparently was such a success, it is even possible that there were Christians
in her life who didn’t bother to tell her about the Lord. They may have believed she didn’t need God,
or that she already had her act together, or that it wasn’t the right time
yet…..and now it is too late for her.
Join me in prayer for Mindy’s family and friends, who must
be suffering terribly in this time of loss.
And while thinking of her, look around yourself to see if there are
others nearby who might be successful, but are struggling in their lives. Perhaps now is the time, and you are the
person God can use to change their life path forever. Will you speak up? And, also look within. What are YOU chasing in life, where is YOUR
source of strength and meaning? Are you
caught in the same mistakes that so many in our society make, believing that
wealth, power, fame and popularity are the path to happiness and meaning? If so, you need to take a second look at
those all around us whose lives prove that the answers are not to be found
there! God alone can give the life
meaning we all need. I encourage you to
give Him that opportunity.
TL:dr The death of
Mindy McCready can inspire us to evaluate what really is important in life.
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