Saturday, February 18, 2012

Lessons from Whitney Houston’s Life and Death

It was a shock to everybody when Whitney Houston’s premature death was announced. It is a shame when anybody passes away while still relatively young. We’ve seen it with Steve Jobs and Michael Jackson, to name a few others who left us all too soon. In the case of Houston and Jackson, it appears their premature deaths resulted from their use of dangerous drugs.

Although you and I can’t begin to imagine what it’s like to be constantly in the public eye, I can guess that it must be very stressful and often irritating. The pressure to perform flawlessly is an added source of stress. As a result, many stars turn to substance abuse. They have the money to buy whatever they want, so they can financially afford a drug habit. It’s so easy to become addicted, and before they know it, they are hooked. Once addicted, it’s difficult to break that powerful addiction.

Sadly, many “ordinary” people are also engaged in substance abuse, whether its alcohol, heroin, marijuana, or something else. As a result, millions of lives are being ruined and families destroyed. Crime is high because these addicts must fund their habit, so they steal. Drugs are ruining this country, and I have no idea how this problem can be solved. Drugs are illegal but can’t be stopped. We tried Prohibition with alcohol and it didn’t work. Probably strict drunk driving laws are more effective in cutting down on alcohol abuse than anything else we’ve tried.

Besides the danger of narcotics, what else can we learn from the death of Whitney Houston? I think we can see that no matter how rich, beautiful, famous, or talented you are (and she was all of those), you aren’t immune from the natural consequences of your wrongdoing.

Moreover, we also learn that despite your wealth, fame, and star status, you can still die young. While some, like Steve Jobs, died of a disease such as cancer, others died because of their lifestyle. If they aren’t immune, neither are you and I. So we should be prepared to go into eternity at any time. Are you?

Related to that is a further lesson from Whitney Houston’s life and death, which is we shouldn’t stray from God. Whitney was brought up in the church, and faith in God was very important to her throughout her life. However, she let idols into her life and they came to dominate her. The pull of worldly things is strong, especially the escape that drugs can temporarily provide.

The world has lost a talented and beautiful person in Whitney Houston. Since she put her faith in Jesus, I am confident she has at last found peace with her Maker. Rest in peace, Whitney, you’re now singing with the angels.

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