I remember standing in the lunch line at Parkside Elementary School and hearing one of my classmates exclaim to another, "Farrah Fawcett is such a babe!" That was the first time I had heard her name. Given that eight-year-olds are such experts on who and who isn't a "babe", I was anxious to see a picture of what this woman with the cool name looked like.
I didn't have to wait long. Charlie's Angels became one of the most popular shows on television, and posters of Farrah started popping up all over the place. (As a kid, I always thought Jaclyn Smith was prettier. And come to think of it, I did end up marrying a brunette.) Farrah truly had become the "American Beauty."
Just about the time the Farrah Fawcett craze began to wane, Michael Jackson's popularity began to rise. Of course the Jackson Five had been a sensation years earlier, but by the early 80's Michael had begun to make a name for himself. Eventually Jackson became known as the "king of pop." Jackson's 1982 Thriller is the world's best-selling record of all-time (PR Newswire, 1/16/09). That dude could dance like nobody else I've ever seen.
Despite the fame, success and popularity that Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson enjoyed, both of these former American icons are now dead. Gone. History. Farrah died of cancer, and Michael was overtaken by an alleged heart attack. News of their deaths - and their lives - will consume the media's attention (and hence ours) for another day or so, and then these two sensations will become (literally) "yesterday's news."
It's a sad and sobering reminder not only of the brevity of life but also the futility of life apart from Jesus Christ. It is not my intent to stand as judge over either Mr. Jackson or Miss Fawcett, but to my knowledge neither professed faith in Christ nor lived in a manner consistent with true Christian conversion. Despite whatever fame they enjoyed, Farrah learned that beauty doesn't last forever, and Michael discovered that we all grow old and can't stay children forever.
Now other stars are on the rise, and they too face the same sobering realities. One such star, Shia LeBeouf (lead actor in such movies as Disturbia and Transformers) was arrested on a DUI last year and admitted to being an alcoholic. LeBeouf acknowledged that "he is indeed battling a few demons, adding that all actors are."
They're all in pain. It's a profession of bottom-feeders and heartbroken people.... Most actors on most days don't think they're worthy.... I have no idea where this insecurity comes from, but it's a God-sized hole. If I knew it, I'd fill it and I'd be on my way.(Fox News, 6/10/09)
That "God-sized hole" to which Shia referred can only be filled with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Indeed, as John Piper put it, God is the Gospel. Saint Augustine's prayer is as relevant now as it was in the fourth century when he prayed, "God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you" (Confessions, Book One).
We who are considered the "nothings" of this world have everything this world needs - and it's all found in Jesus Christ, "who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord'" (1 Cor. 1:30-31).
Yesterday's deaths are a fitting reinforcement of the lesson we learned during Bible study the night before:
Do not let your heart envy sinners,
But always be zealous for the fear of the Lord.
- Proverbs 23:17 -