Posted by
Playful Walrus on Wednesday, July 08, 2009 2:00:00 PM
My sympathies go out to all of his loved ones.
He was an extremely talented, innovative, and influential entertainer who deeply touched millions of people around the world and generated a lot of money for a lot of businesses.
With Neverland, he built an elaborate private park/playground for children that was especially accommodating of disabled children. He often welcomed children there, thereby giving children, especially disabled, sick, and dying children, some joy.
He was generous in cooperating with people like "Weird Al" Yankovic, who hilariously parodied Jackson multiple times. This showed that he had a sense of humor about himself and his work.
He made a very big and very public mistake by briefly dangling his youngest child from a fourth-floor balcony; thankfully, he did not drop the child. This act was like speeding on an unnecessary errand without strapping the child in to a car seat.
His abuse of/addiction to medications may have killed him and should be a warning to all.
By his own statements, he had an inappropriate way of relating to children. By the accounts of many, his was emotionally immature or somehow maladjusted. Yes, he was a child performer and by some accounts he was horribly abused by his father (and his mother allowed this), but other child performers and victims of abuse have gone on to be healthy adults, some of them continuing to work in the entertainment industry.
Although investigated more than once and taken to criminal trial, he was never convicted of assaulting or molesting children. I don’t know of any conclusive proof that he committed such crimes. If he did commit such crimes (and I hope to God he didn't), then he committed grievous evils. The parents of those children would also share some blame for not properly supervising their own children.
On a positive note, we don't hear stories about him fornicating with woman after woman, as is so common in entertainment – and especially pop music.
His arrangement with Debbie Rowe and decisions to create and raise three children without providing them with a healthy, stable home headed by a married mother and father cheapened the institution of marriage and wrongfully deprived those children. No amount of money or doting by a father replaces a mother, or the dynamic between parents who are husband and wife.
Ultimately, Michael Jackson was a sinner like the rest of us, falling short of the holiness of God. He is much better off if Jesus Christ was his Lord and Savior, and thus his representative, than if he has met God as his own representative. None of us knows for sure if he had this relationship with Jesus or not. All of us fall short if judged on our own merits. As for me, I'm thankful Jesus Christ is my representative in judgment.