If you do some research you’ll find lists of actors, athletes, and musicians who have died prematurely because of an addiction to drugs and alcohol.  Just this past week the nation was shocked to hear that Academy Award  winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in his home from  an apparent drug overdose. As people posted pictures and heart felt  sentiments all over social media, I couldn't help but feel conflicted. Here  was a man who, to the outside observer, had it all. A successful career, a  family, and a long life left to live. There are millions, if not billions, of people who would not hesitate for a second to trade lives with him or someone similar. However, I wonder if that fame and fortune, that so many desire, was less a blessing and more a curse.

More people today place their faith, focus, and future on the world rather than the Word of God. Even Christians can easily become entranced by the sweet sounds of selfishness. The Bible clearly condemns it, (Philippians 2:4; 1 Corinthians 10:24; 1 John 3:17). 2 Timothy 3:2-4 says, “For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,
traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” Whenever I read of a celebrity who loses their life because of sinful desires I am reminded of how selfish people can truly be.

Sometimes we think the decisions we make affect no one but ourselves, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Philip Seymour Hoffman left behind three children who will grow up without a father and other family members who were robbed of the chance to say goodbye. Why? Because his heart was blackened by the world instead of brightened by the Word and a lover of pleasure rather than a lover of God.

There is a lesson in this situation, as well as others like it. “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh,” (Galatians 5:16). Philippians 3:18-21 tells us, “For many walk, of whom I have told often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame – who set their mind on earthly things. For
our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” The Spirit leads to life, while the lusts of the flesh lead to death. Given those two choices, it seems  pretty evident which one we ought to be concerned with and we must decide which path we want to walk in our lives. Do we care more about how we feel and the way the world can make us feel, or do we care more about the Lord and what He has to offer? It saddens me to see so many people, both celebrities and Christians, picking the wrong path and loving the wrong things. Examine your own life today and see what path you are on and whether you need to make a life-saving change. Most importantly make that change before it’s too late.                  

I have always been a huge fan of Philip Seymour Hoffman. The first movie I saw him in, Twister, was one of my favorites. When I found out that he died, I was shocked. He was a great actor, described as the next Humphrey Bogart; a compliment that he will never be able to live up to.

The saddest thing about this situation is that it wasn’t the first and probably won’t be the last of its kind. People in the world need to wake up and realize that nothing is greater than salvation. No amount of alcohol, drugs, or money can compare to the grace, peace, mercy, and salvation offered by God. Although there are things that might make us feel good for a minute they take away the possibility of feeling amazing for eternity. It might be difficult to put away your selfish desires, but rest assured it’s worth it. 1 Peter 1:22-24 says, “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because, ‘All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers away and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” God Bless!