Our culture has an endless fascination with the rich and famous, which becomes especially acute when an iconic star passes away (e.g. Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston…). Last week’s untimely death of pop music star, “Prince” is a case in point. For days, or sometimes weeks, the media is saturated with images of the star, clips of weeping fans, tributes from other celebrities, intrigue about the facts surrounding their death, a sudden burst of interest in their catalog from decades ago, often times revisionist retrospectives of their body of work, a slow parade of alleged insiders who claim to have some new tidbit of information, and sometimes even a star-studded funeral to send them off. We tend to view their life through the lens of their glorious accomplishments and their vast renown; but I would suggest that more often than not they pass from this life broken and alone. The myth of fame and fortune is stripped bare by death. I doubt seriously that anyone has ever asked that their gold records, or Grammy award, or Oscar, or Olympic Medal be brought to their bedside as they face their final minutes. Ultimately, the quality of a life isn’t defined by its shiniest moments, but by those day to day instances when no one is looking. In the end, it will be about who we have loved, and who has loved us. The piece that follows is something I wrote years ago to portray the emptiness of such an existence. For me, fame and fortune is like this hollow mansion.
*
Hollow Mansion
*
My eyes flick open to the dim light of the pre-dawn morning
and my head throbs with the dull ache of the night before
There is a beautiful woman lying beside me
but I find myself straining to remember her name
When she wakes, I’ll have to pretend that last night meant something to me
but for now, I couldn’t be more alone
*
As I stare at the ornate ceiling of this massive room
I can see all the cracks along its edges
They not only speak of the sandy soil on which this estate was built
they testify to the weak foundation of this new life that I have established
While everyone else’s eyes are naturally drawn to the beautiful gold trim
all I can see is the fractured façade
While they all seem to notice the extravagant furnishings in each room
I find myself focusing on the vast empty space created by every high ceiling
*
These thoughts take me back to the water stained ceiling of my childhood bedroom
and I find myself wondering whatever became of that little boy
I also remember lying awake in a little trailer, many years ago
wondering how I was going to support my young bride & our new baby
Back then, paying the bills was my greatest struggle
but now that those debts are more than covered, I’m struggling with the price that was paid
*
I’d trade everything I’ve gained to erase the hurt and confusion in my children’s faces
as I pulled our family apart on the way to making my own dreams come true
I’d give it all back for the woman who loved me
when I had nothing to offer other than a desire to share her life
I’d gladly forfeit the drafty halls of this hollow mansion
for the warmth of the place that I used to call home
I’ve finally figured out that it’s better to have one person who loves you for who you really are
than to have ten thousand who love the person they imagine you to be
*
Unfortunately, by the time I came to understand this, it was too late
As the raging waters of my desire had already swept away any moorings for a bridge back
So as the first rays of the sun begin to creep across the windows
I swallow a couple of painkillers to prepare for the day that lies ahead
And as the beautiful stranger lying next to me stirs from her sleep
I push my face into a smile and utter, “Good morning darling”
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Bjcorbin's Blog 
Church Government
Posted in Commentaries, Word Pictures, tagged Christian culture, deceptive philosophy, democracy, monachy on April 9, 2019| Leave a Comment »
I heard a couple of sermons on Sunday, one of which spoke of “The King”, and the other that addressed holiness. They put me in mind of something I wrote many years ago. I guess I never published it, because I had to dig it out of an old notebook.
Church Government
I saw a picture in my mind of the British Parliament, and I sensed the question, “Is England a Monarchy or a Democracy?” Now this seemed to be a fairly unspiritual question, but I began to ponder my answer. My immediate impulse was to say it was a monarchy, but the picture of the parliament reminded me that it was in fact a democracy. While England does have a “Royal Family”, they actually have no real function within the day-to-day running of the country. While some might claim that they still have a “monarchy”, it is not their way of government.
As I continued to meditate in this vein another question came; “Why are the people of England willing to pay the expense of this royal family, when they serve no real purpose in the governing of their country?” I sensed that the answer lies in the people’s desire to be associated with the monarchy. That all of the pomp and trappings of royalty make the people feel royal about themselves, as though this distinguishes them from other countries. It occurred to me that if the people of England really believed in the concept of a monarchy (i.e. that the royal family was God ordained and bred for leadership) that there wouldn’t be anyone else they would want to run their country; but instead they have chosen democracy as their form of government.
Certainly as an American I can appreciate democracy, because as a citizen I want my beliefs and desires to be reflected in the leadership of my community, my state and this nation. There is nothing wrong with the British choosing democracy over a monarchy, but their desire to maintain the trappings of royalty creates an interesting illusion; it helps them to view themselves as one thing when they’re really something else.
As I continued to pray, I sensed the Lord say that this is a picture of His church. He said that though we claim Him as “King”, He is rarely allowed to be involved in the decision making process, or the day to day affairs of the church; that decisions are primarily made by the people and for the people; that though we desire to be associated with His majesty, we do not necessarily desire to submit to His authority, and that though His name appears on the letterhead, the words of the message do not necessarily come from Him.
In his letter to the Colossians, Paul warned of the body becoming disconnected from the Head; he said, “see to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ”. It seems that much of popular Christian culture has based itself on “the basic principles of this world”, and that in attempt to become relevant to the world, we’ve conformed ourselves to what we think will be found appealing in the marketplace. Much of the “Christian” guidance (i.e. books, tapes, seminars…) on subjects like marriage, child rearing, inner healing… are more rooted in psychology than in God’s word, and we’ve even begun to study the corporate world for marketing strategies to be deployed within the church. Based on these strategies, which put “what the people want” at the forefront, we are now seeing new interpretations (read; not necessarily translations) of scripture, which subtly distort anything which might offend someone who has adapted to the current cultural view.
In the book of Revelation there are messages to seven churches, which seem to be representative of the end time churches. Within those the Lord points out some positive things, but He also gives stern warnings about the things He has against them. He warns about forsaking our first love (i.e. allowing something other than Christ to be at the forefront of the church); that we must being willing to endure hardship and suffering (i.e. be willing to forsake our comfort); against adhering to false doctrines, which allow us to indulge our flesh and still believe that we are righteous before a Holy God; against tolerating sexual immorality within the church; against falling asleep, and not fulfilling His role for the church and against being lukewarm in our relationship with Him. It is hard to deny that all of these things are prominently featured within modern Christianity.
At the end of each message there is a promise, but those promises are reserved for those who overcome these things. Despite warnings throughout the New Testament, the Western church seems to be falling into many of these deadly patterns. Our only hope is to re-connect to the Head, to tune our ears to His Holy Spirit; to renew our relationship with our “First Love”, to seek the Lord while He may be found, and to be like Jesus (e.g. to only do what we see the Father doing first).
Within this portion of Revelation, the one group the Lord doesn’t seem to have an issue with is the church of Philadelphia, which He says kept His word and did not deny His name. This seems to be such a basic principle and yet this is the only church of which He could say this. If we would choose to be that church, the promises of God are waiting for us there. “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He, who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
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