POSTMORTEM

Is is "bad" to speak ill of the deceased? Flowery funeral-speak aside, the media seems determined to glorify Michael Jackson. The "elephant in the room" question is: was MJ a bad boy...a bad fifty-year-old boy? He sang repeated lyrics that proclaimed he was bad. Wait. That meant he was cool/good, not bad. As Mike would say..."give me Johnny Cash lyrics any day; I can understand them."

Why do you think there is such confusion about Michael Jackson's life?

I'm thinking it is because no one wants to appear judgmental. If you say anything about the King of Pop's life, the big ole "judge not" hammer comes out. People who normally may not study the Bible are all of a sudden using it for back-up. They might be surprised if they actually studied what that particular passage says...

Actually we ARE called on to evaluate many things. We expect our children to be able to evaluate their friends because the Bible says "bad company corrupts good morals". We are expected to evaluate the movies and TV we watch because the Psalmist says "I will set no worthless thing before my eyes". We're always evaluating our own motives, our priorities, and our plans for the day because the Bible says I should make the most of my time because I'm not guaranteed tomorrow. So I know God expects my wisdom to be ever increasing and affecting my judgment.

So how can we biblically evaluate Michael Jackson's life? Well, the Bible says we will know people by their fruit. What kind of fruit was on his tree?

Man brought charges against Mr. Jackson and then man ruled that he was innocent; there is no basis for name calling because God only knows. I find comfort in knowing that God's judgment is perfect and the cases that squeak by in this life will certainly be seen in the next life in light as bright as the noonday sun. No one skates by God's omniscience. So if we give MJ the benefit of the doubt that he was innocent of his charges, was his behavior just bizarre? Was he just the product of an abusive father?

Biblically, we are under the injunction to "avoid even the appearance of evil". When Mr. Jackson went on TV and said he liked to sleep with young boys, even if it was innocent, it gave the appearance of evil.

But WAIT. What about all the good MJ did in this life? Doesn't that count for anything? Perhaps he was a "good" father to give his kids the life he never enjoyed. And what about the money he gave to charity? We hear that he got the Guinness World Record for charitable contributions.

Ask yourself whose book recorded points for that generosity? Was it God's book or man's book? God says the things I do for impure motives (to showcase myself...to make me feel righteous...or win friends) those things are like filthy rags to Him, even if they are good things. Why? Because they aren't done for Jesus' sake; they are done for moi'. We are in effect feeling our nakedness (shame) before God and trying by our own deeds to clothe ourselves. God is not impressed. He wants to have a loving and living relationship where I come to HIM to see what He has in mind for my righteousness. The Bible says I have good deeds created before the foundation of the world that God thought up for me to accomplish. If so, I better be about finding out what those are! I want to utilize my gifting and walk in the path He made for me.

Do you think Michael Jackson's path looked like the one the Lord created for him? How profoundly sad it was that he needed operating room anesthetic to even sleep toward the end of his life. There didn't appear to be a glimmer of the joy of the Lord...only pain. The sad waste is that Jesus was always close and willing to give Michael a real reason to dance. The Lord's heart is broken for the hurting.

I get it that when an earthly father does not love well, it is more difficult for the child to understand God's love. Joe Jackson must certainly have his demons. But if a person is open to God's love, God will show Himself to that person. He sees our hearts and knows whether the ground there is plowed up or hard-baked. Was there any evidence of Jesus in Michael's life? I hope such a relationship was there, but I would hate to have to build the case for one. He did not exhibit the peace that passes understanding.

Thank goodness that I am not appointed judge for Michael Jackson's life. There is no desire to malign him now...that lonely and tortured man did a good job of maligning himself. But also we should not pretend. Whether it sounds judgmental or not, Michael Jackson wrote his own script as we all do. And the script was grotesque. Our part in this is to evaluate and decide what might bear emulating.

Jesus said "My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." John 10:27