“It Always Looks Darkest Just Before It’s Totally Black.” – Charlie Brown

The interviews of Charlie Sheen are bizarre to say the least.  His incoherent thoughts ramble out of his cigarette infected throat – thoughts glorifying his narcissistic self, his romps with whores, his drug trips as performances – all the while pushing back on his father for judging him, attacking those who paid him $1.8 million dollars an episode for being able to read a script!

The problem with Charlie is simply this:  He is a boy that never received an education, never had a day of discipline in his life and never actually had to work (unless you call acting work.) So now as a man he is exposed to the extremes of wealth, fame, and sin, having been divorced three times and paying enormous sums of money for sex.

The amazing thing is that he is living the life that is promoted in every men’s magazine, and grunted out of every half-baked adolescent male.  This is what happens to men who live without purpose and according to the original intent of manhood.  They chase the extremes in their meaningless life – “eat, drink, for tomorrow we die.”

The media vultures hover around his decaying persona waiting for his demise, hoping for the interview to be timed just right to be his last interview.  They are complicit in his stupidity.  They are equally insane to think that he deserves the time, while the world is in turmoil and on the verge of collapse.

Manhood is more than this.  Manhood is noble, dignified, honorable, respectful, and disciplined.  Manhood needs a resurrection in our time.

Jesus’ response to tragedy can serve as a lesson.

“Those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” Luke 13:4

Jesus is teaching that if we are not careful, we can think a tragedy is a targeted judgment of sin, when in fact; ALL tragedy is a result of the fallen world. The earth is groaning as in birth pains awaiting the redemptive work of God (Romans 8).

Jesus warns those judging the tragedy of the fallen tower of Siloam that the eighteen who died were not more sinful than anyone else but were simply the result of the tragedy of death.

These are comments that you SHOULD NOT make:

• This is because they are cursed.
• God is teaching them something.
• All things work together for the good. This is taking a scripture completely out of the context and applying all acts as good. Obviously, this is not true.
• They lacked faith.
• Hopefully, this will turn them to God.
• Well, I am just glad it didn’t happen to us.
• They deserved it.
• God did this.

Here are a few responses that we SHOULD have:

• What can I do to help?
• Who is responding and how can I help them?
• How can I pray?
• I am so grateful and humbled by this tragedy that I want to invest in helping in every way that I can?
• Do not sin with your lips by accusing God of a tragedy.

If you would like to help in relief efforts and invest in long term cultural change, please consider partnering with Latin America Child Care at www.lacc4hope.org