Saturday, February 18, 2012

Life Can End Suddenly

LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered— how fleeting my life is. -- Psalm 39:4

Today they’re set to bury singer Whitney Houston. It’s a tragic end to a singer whose voice touched many lives. And, perhaps, a lesson to all of us that our days are numbered and that no one is beyond tragedy.

We the public feel somehow that we knew this superstar. We didn’t. It was appalling that some fans were irate that a public funeral wasn’t scheduled. It’s as though they believe that purchasing CD’s and concert tickets entitle them to mourn in the same place, the same way, as family and friends.

Let us not forget that a young girl lost her mother. Her mother. Not a singer standing on a stage before thousands of people. Her mother. No one can feel this loss like that young girl.

And what of her mother? Her brothers? Her extended family and friends? These are the people who watched her grow up, who shared her home, who celebrated her joys and felt her sorrow. How dare any “fan” think they have a right to mourn as those who are close to her.

We live in an unfortunate society where the lines of reality and imagination seem to become more blurry every day. We somehow think we “know” people who grace the covers of magazines or sing their songs on the radio. We don’t. It’s all an image cultivated to make us buy those songs, those magazines.

Maybe we find it easier to become obsessed with someone else’s life than to actually live our own lives. Maybe reading everything about a celebrity, watching interviews, attending events, makes our own rather dull lives seem more glamorous. Maybe we’re focused on someone else because we don’t like ourselves.

We each have our own lives to live. Yes, it’s wonderful to hear the voice of an awesome singer. But it doesn’t change our own lives. Whitney Houston had a brilliant career and a devastating disease. She was a “church girl” who lost sight of her strength. God. We can learn from that.

So let her family and friends bury her. Let them grieve. And let us remember that none of us have the promise of old age. Our days on this earth are numbered -- and we don’t know that number. So live each day to give God glory, with your eyes clearly focused on what