Articles
Misplaced Admiration
We recently passed the 40th anniversary of the death of a world-renowned musician (I’ll reveal his identity later). Here are some reflections on how this man impacted others:
“He shaped pretty much everything for me … was such a towering figure that it was almost like hanging out with a god. He combined all the elements of a superman for people my age: humor, wisdom, ambition, strength, talent ” (Jann Wenner, Rolling Stone founder).
He “shaped my world” (May Pang, personal assistant)
“I’m not kidding when I say (he) changed our whole direction in life … The loss was irreplaceable” (Alice Cooper).
When he died “I felt my youth had been put in a box and that box was closed. The generational attachment was that profound” (Jane Pauley).
“We had (him) for 40 years, and that was the time we got for the good messages to get through … The finality of it was devastating (Bob Gruen, photographer).
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say there was something lost that day … that transcends his death as well as his vision. And what that was, I believe, was a piece of each of us that embraced the things that we believed in. It was a day that, for many … in my generation, represented the loss of our own innocence and hope. In the 40 years that have gone by, nobody has come round to re-instill the sheer power of his affirmation of our personal dreams. We’ve heard that phrase ‘the dream is over’ because (he) is gone” (Elliot Mintz, friend).
So, who is this icon, this “god” whose murder devastated the masses? If you haven’t guessed already, here’s a sample of his “deep” philosophy:
When I was younger, so much younger than today, I never needed anybody's help in any way. But now these days are gone, I’m not so self-assured. Now I find I’ve changed my mind and opened up the doors.
This is the same songwriter who wrote:
Imagine there’s no heaven; it’s easy if you try; No hell below us, above us only sky. Imagine all the people living for today. Imagine there’s no countries; it isn’t hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion, too.
The author, of course, is John Lennon, and it is a travesty that someone who rejected God and truth is so revered while Jesus Himself is ignored, abhorred or, worse, has His name denigrated daily through profanity.
John Lennon was merely a camouflaged, idealistic communist. He said of the second song quoted above, “‘Imagine,’ which says: ‘Imagine that there was no more religion, no more country, no more politics,’ is virtually the Communist Manifesto, even though I’m not particularly a Communist and I do not belong to any movement” (Wikipedia). Rolling Stone “described its lyrics as ‘22 lines of graceful, plain-spoken faith in the power of a world, united in purpose, to repair and change itself’” (ibid).
The John Lennons of the world will never achieve the dreamy peace and harmony they wish for because they seek it on a humanistic basis. The goal is worthy; however, it ignores the reality of Satan’s stranglehold over those who have no spiritual sensibilities or defenses. Those unenlightened by God’s truth wallow in ignorance, lust, foolishness and futility; i.e., moral and spiritual darkness. This creates a confusion noted by Solomon: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Pr 14:12). Minstrels, authors, poets, philosophers and other well-meaning but naïve social pundits keep recycling these threadbare, failed ideologies. They fancy themselves as occupying the high moral ground and denigrate those who more realistically understand the chronic, irreparable flaws of humanity – “irreparable” in the sense that mankind will never conquer them because the vast majority continues to ignore God and thus fails to deal with those flaws the only way they can be solved.
It is galling to see Jesus discredited and John Lennon lionized. Lennon enthralled a generation who rejected authority and craved unrestricted pleasure. He was a drug-taking, pot-smoking, free-love hippie who deceitfully sowed the seeds of anarchy with catchy music. Lennon said of Imagine: “(It is) anti-religious, anti-nationalistic, anti-capitalistic, but because it is sugarcoated it is accepted … (You have to) put your political message across with a little honey” (ibid). Jesus will always be a pariah in a frantic, manic world, and dime store philosophers will captivate the troubled masses who refuse to think for themselves.
Jesus Christ is rejected because He completely counters the Lennon worldview. Jesus doesn’t deceive; He tells the unvarnished truth. He says that serving God is our #1 priority. He says that His disciples should honor rulers and obey laws. He says that sex is reserved for marriage and self-control rules out smoking, shooting or drinking that which creates stupor.
The earlier comments on Lennon’s death (AARP, 12/20-1/21) well describe what an idol is. An idol, either a real person or a manmade object, merely reflects our own thoughts and values. We revere the idol because we revere ourselves. Idolatry is self-worship, the very antithesis of what it means to humbly serve God. In the song Help (quoted above) Lennon reflects a wayward world that knows it is sick and hurting but refuses the remedy God has prescribed for it. Thus the world will never “repair and change itself” because it enshrines the very values that pollute and destroy it. The only real solution for the soul-withering disease of sin and selfishness is to embrace God and the healing He freely offers to the lost.
