5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,to the glory of God the Father."
I watched much of the Michael Jackson tribute service yesterday. Not because I'm a huge Michael Jackson fan... cause I'm not. I think that he was an "okay" artist. (I know some will disagree with me on that... go ahead if you want... you won't change my mind.) I think he was an "okay" celebrity (again... feel free to debate). I think he was a weird and twisted individual (again... feel free to argue... just know that if you are abusive, you will be deleted).
But I watched it more because our society claims that he was a major figure. Not just because of what they said but also because of how they treated his passing. (Honestly I'm getting tired of hearing about it in the news... so this will likely be my one and only post on the subject... mostly because I think we've spent too much time on it already.)
So I watched because I was interested in what was happening from the standpoint of keeping up with what is happening in our culture. And frankly, I was shocked by how much they idolized him with the things they said and how they acted. Was he a great artist? Debatable. Was he a great human being? Possibly... but again debatable. Was he God or a god? Absolutely not. I loved what Mark Driscoll twittered... "The cult-like status of MJs death is unreal. If someone transported in from ancient Israel they would have swore he was a god like Pharaoh." And there likely are some around the world today who think that he was a god.
I loved the perspective placed on the whole shenanigans by the minister at the very end (his name I didn't catch... but should I find out today, I will edit that in)... his comment was worth watching the whole deal... He said "and now the king of pop will have to bow his knee to the King of Kings." (see Revelation 17 and 19 if King of Kings doesn't mean anything to you.)
Michael Jackson isn't God. Only God is God. And now that Michael's life is done, he will have to stand before Him who judges the life and actions of all. My hope and prayer is that you bow your knee in submission here on earth before it's forced in the end.
Because every knee will bow... Eventually!
Jim
Edit: The name of the minister was Pastor Lucious Smith and HERE is a link to the video of his closing prayer.
Thank you Jim!!! You've said a great deal here!!! BTW, the Pastor's name was Lucious Smith (their family Pastor apparently)...I agree with you on the whole thing about "it's getting old and irritating". One of the biggest issues I've been debating with acquaintances is looking at all of the men & women who have given their lives to fight for our freedoms, and the fredoom to have even been a fan of MJ and what memorial do they get...what respect and moments of silence does Congress grant them in their honor. I pray MJ knew God, but based on his previous public professions of chosen faith, I have doubt, but who am I too judge...it just burns me that only 2 clicks away from the live coverage of MJ's service, there's another video about a father who's being deployed to Iraq and his daughter has been missing for 10 days! CNN cut the video towards the end and deleted what the Sheriff overseeing the investigation had to say about the girl's disappearance!!! Regarding MJ's personal life, only God knows what really happened under those sheets. I pray he was innocent, but we will never know the truth...Celeb's may have been a big part of some people's lives...however, they wouldn't have even had the opportunity to influence their fans, if it weren't for the soldiers, officers and firefighters who provide us with freedom and safety every single day! When a soldier is killed overseas, people don't gather in front of his home...when an officer lays down his life in the line of duty, strangers don't gather outside of a theater...and when a fireman runs into a burning building to save some one or thing, people don't gather outside of his hospital room to see his body on a stretcher under a white sheet. As a matter of fact, if you saw it on the news, which I’m sure you did, Michael Jackson's body was transported in an ambulance just like yours or mine would be! Was he...talented...absolutely! And from one musician to another, RIP M.J.! Please don't forget that this man was accused not once, not twice, but three times for child molestation...and consider me bias if you want, but not just b/c I am now married into the law enforcement community and besides having grown up in it for the past 18 years…for the community to act as though he is a god and pay homage to an individual as though it’s the end of the world…if you ask me, it seems as though we should be praying for all those that are throwing themselves at the Staples Center in LA, and praying that God will shake them awake to see MJ wasn’t a god, but was just a poor old bum (figure of speech) just like you and me…maybe WE ALL should be more understanding to the freedom's that we have b/c they’re being fought for even as we speak to enjoy concerts and late night talk shows and Charlie's Angels! As for his children, I pray to God that they end up where they belong and not in a situation where the family truly doesn't get along and is constantly contesting the will of their deceased father, and that they will get the proper up-bringing and directional guidance they will to need, so they can choose to worship a loving God...much like my own!
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