Liam Payne (Photo: karina3094)
CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Over the past two weeks I’ve thought a great deal about the death of Liam Payne. If you don’t know who his is – he was a member of the boy band One Direction. He fell to his death off a hotel balcony. He was certainly high or drunk at the time. It’s widely thought that he committed suicide. He was 31.
I find this indescribably sad. But it is also a moment of reflection for you and me.
Liam Payne is someone who had success in his chosen endeavor – music – than even he could ever have imagined. He had fame. He had enough money to last several lifetimes. I’ve seen the photos of his ex-fiancé and his most recent girlfriend. He had access to the most beautiful women that would be beyond any man’s fantasies.
And yet, despite all of that, Liam Payne’s life had devolved into addiction – a near-continuous cycle of drugs and booze that eventually destroyed them.
So… here is someone with success, wealth, fame – and he was ultimately unhappy. You and I are likely richer in some parts of our life than Liam Payne.
I think that’s a type of despair that you and I can’t imagine. What if all of your dreams come true? And you are still not fulfilled. I think the unhappy-successful must wonder, “what’s wrong with me?” How deep must someone’s despair be when they realize that they have everything and aren’t satisfied.
What if material things don’t lead to a happy life?
No one arrives in Heaven with a U-haul full of their stuff behind them. We leave this life like we enter it, with no material belongings.
God speaks to this. Scripture tells us not to store up our wealth on earth where rust and moths will get at it. Instead, we are told, store up your treasure in heaven.
In John 16, Jesus told his followers “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world .” I think his message holds true for the poor and the wealthy. Being spiritually rich is the path to happiness, in this life and the next.
Chris Conley
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