FROM RHETT BUTLER TO THE WOLF OF WALL STREET

[Disclaimer: I have never seen "Gone with the Wind," nor have I seen "The Wolf of Wall Street." I plan to see neither for various reasons.]

In 1939, a line spoken by Rhett Butler to Scarlett O'Hara made movie history. Recently, "The Wolf of Wall Street" has also made movie history for its use of a record number of obscenities in the dialogue. It reflects the point to which we've come in seventy-five years, just one life span of the biblical "three score and ten."

One screen writer had such a visceral reaction to "The Wolf of Wall Street" that he confronted its director and lead actor, screaming, "Shame on you! Disgusting!" in their faces as they exited from an elevator. Others have called it "smut." It's a movie which has driven people out of the theater, because, as one woman said, "I couldn't take it anymore." Some have reported that it's so disgusting, they walked out in the first two minutes.

One reviewer wrote: "The Wolf Of Wall Street" – three hours of torture – same disgusting stuff over and over again."

Another writes, "["The Wolf of Wall Street"] is a world in which nobody knows anything and the product is vapor." That sounds as if the reviewer has read Ecclesiastes.

It features scenes of chaotic immorality and drug-fuelled parties. Even its director says, "It's brutal."

Yet, there are reports that "The Wolf of Wall Street" is playing to packed theaters and receiving applause, accolades, and awards for the best movie of the year.

Let's probe more deeply into this subject and ask, "What's going on?" I would suggest what's going on is effecting us and our way of life. I would suggest that what's going on is fundamental and is escaping the attention of many.

Let's start with the observations of a historian, one Arnold Toynbee who studied 26 civilizations and concluded that the great civilizations of history died by not by murder from an outside hand, but by suicide, because of an internal collapse of morality. (You may be thinking, "I've heard this before, but humor me; read on.)

He made this observation: "To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization." Food for thought. One wonders if the filling of our leisure time with "The Wolf of Wall Street" is an intelligent choice.

Toynbee gives us more intellectual and spiritual nutrition. In his study of the great civilizations and their suicides, he concludes that they soued their own death knell when they begin to fail to respond to challenges creatively and, instead, their elite became occupied with imitating the under classes in speech, dress, manners, music, attitude, and outlook. 

Our word today would be that the various civilizations died because their leaders, teachers, writers, celebrities and the influential began to consider it "hip" to talk like, dress like, think like, behave like, and listen to the music of the lower classes.  

Professor Walter Williams, quoting Dr. Charles Murray, puts it this way:  

"In disintegrating civilizations, the creative minority (elites) are no longer confident and setting the example. They "lapse into truancy" (reject the obligations of citizenship) and "surrender to a sense of promiscuity" (succumb to vulgarization of manners, the arts and language). Until a few decades ago, the groups we used to call "low-class" or "trash", are now called the underclass. The upper-class, instead of challenging trashy behavior, often imitates and placates it."

He cites the following examples:

"As late as 1960, four-letter words were unknown in public discourse and among the elites and were used sparingly even in private discourse. Today, vulgar language knows no class, sex, age or place. As late as 1960, sleeping with one's boyfriend was mostly a lower-class thing. It was deemed trashy and something to be kept secret; today it's open and assumed to be normal.

"Our new language demonstrates an essential part of the process - non-judgmentalism. People used to shack up; now they "cohabit" or they're "living partners." Unmarried women used to give birth to an "illegitimate child;" today it's a "nonmarital birth." In some instances, unwed mothers proudly hold baby showers celebrating their illegitimate offspring.

"Homosexual marriages were unheard of; today, in some jurisdictions, homosexual marriages have legal sanction. To be judgmental about the new codes of conduct is to risk being labeled a prude and possibly a racist, sexist or a homophobe.

"In earlier days, to be an American gentleman meant: one was brave, loyal and true. When one was wrong, he admitted it and took his medicine like a man. Taking advantage of women was totally out. A handshake and one's word were more binding than any legal document. The code of the gentleman has collapsed just as the code of the lady has collapsed.

"Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky and the nation's response is yet another example; after all, "it was just about sex," and so what that it involved witness tampering, perjury, obstruction of justice and a presidentially organized attack on an officer of the court.

"We make excuses and apologies for failures and make mascots out of social misfits such as bums. We call bums homeless people; thus, a moral equivalency is created between those who might have lost their homes in a flood and social parasites."

We see this disintegration in the history of Israel. Israel became the Canaanites: their elites  worshiped the Canaanite gods in the halls of power; they fashioned idols of the Baalim; they treated their children as the Canaanites treated theirs by sacrificing them to idols. Their outlook and their behavior became Canaanite. 

And this leads us to the question hoary with age: "Does art imitate life or does life imitate art?" In other words, are we changed by what we read and see in the media? Or does the media follow the lead of the culture in which it finds itself. 

I want to suggest: life imitates art. 

If a society is immune to being lead by art, then the advertising industry would collapse overnight; it would never have been born. If the best basketball player wears $200 Nikes, what brand of shoe does your child want? The first lady in 1963 wore a pill box hat, what do you think millions of women bought when they went to Macy's? 

Who wins the awards for the best music? Whose tickets do the masses buy tickets to see and hear? The "artists" who are the most egregious. Which singers get the most publicity which, of course, sells their albums? The egregious. Who do little girls want to dress like and talk like and act like? You guessed it, the deviant they see promoted to wealth and fame. 

Life imitates art, and there's the rub. By having our ears assaulted by the obscenities millions hear at the movies or on TV, what's happening? By having morality, courtesy, decency, decorum, and modesty both under attack and ridiculed, what's going on?

What's going on is "cultural permission." Cultural permission is being given to vulgarize mores and manners. The movies, the music, the arts are making it permissible and hip to do so. 

When movies and television, magazines, books portray and glamorize a chaotic morality, they are giving us cultural permission to behave that way. What was once the morality of the plebeians is the  moriality of the elites and then it's diffused into the culture. 

This is hardly new. Although I've never read it, J. D. Salinger's, Catcher in the Rye is hailed as a masterpiece of literature. Hardly. But no one dares to say, "The Emperor has no clothes." The elites will smear you from here to kingdom come if you dare to say that such a literary emperor strides naked. 

I mentioned Toynbee earlier. It's said of Toynbee that there was no scholar living as well read, more translated, more discussed than he. But when he began to publish the conclusions of his study of the fall of 26 civilizations, saying that they collapsed from  internal spiritual rot, the educated elites abandoned him like last year's losing coach. When he wrote that America gives evidence of the same internal rot, they criticized him and then ignored him until his death on October 22, 1975.  

Cultural permission gives  every man, woman, and child the OK to "talk that way," to "dress that way," and to "act that way." 

Let's wash our eyes out with a Pauline admonition to the believer: Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe."

And you and I? We're to be the contrast. Salt and light. We challenge the vulgarization without being shocked at it. What else would we expect from the world? I John 5 says that  the world lies cradled in the arms of the wicked one. God says that fallen man's intent is "evil from his youth" (Genesis 8). The wolves of Wall Street and Main Street act what they are: wolves.

The wolves of Wall and Main Streets will always be wolves until their trust meets the right object. The wolves need to meet the Lion, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. The wolves must become the sheep of His pasture and let the growth process of discipleship begin. A process which will lead them, not to the ethic of the underclass, not to the ethic of the elite, not to the ethic of the "good' elite , but to the ethic of Galatians 5:22-23.

Instead of wringing our hands over this, let's listen to Jesus: 

 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves [of Wall Street and Main Street]; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. . .  

"A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household! Therefore do not fear them . . . 

"Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confes^s him before My Father who is in heaven. ³³ But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven . . . . 

 "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸ And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁹ He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it." (From Matthew 10)
_________________________________________________________________
Dr. Mike Halsey is the chancellor of Grace Biblical Seminary, a Bible teacher at the Hangar Bible Fellowship, and the author of Truthspeak, available on Amazon.com. A copy of his book, Microbes in the Bloodstream of the Church, is also available as an E-book on Amazon.com. If you would like to a receive a copy of his weekly Bible studies and other articles of biblical teaching and application, you can do so by writing sue.bove@gmail.com and requesting, "The Hangar Bible Fellowship Journal."

If you would like to contribute to his ministry according to the principle of II Corinthians 9:7, you may do so by making your check out to Hangar Bible Fellowship and mailing it to 65 Teal Ct., Locust Grove, GA 30248. All donations are tax deductible.

Come visit the Hangar some Sunday at 10 AM at the above address. You'll be glad you did.

Other recommended grace-oriented websites are:

notbyworks.org
literaltruth.org
gracebiblicalseminary.org
duluthbible.org
clarityministries.org

Also:

Biblical Ministries, Inc.
C/O Dr. Richard Grubbs
P. O. Box 64582
Lubbock, TX 79464-4582

There is hardly a more common error than that of taking the man who has one talent, for a genius.
Read more at http://www.notable-quotes.com/h/helps_arthur.html#mpzMv1GyXYdlOVbq.99"There is

There is hardly a more common error than that of taking the man who has one talent, for a genius.
Read more at http://www.notable-quotes.com/h/helps_arthur.html#mpzMv1GyXYdlOVbq.99

There is hardly a more common error than that of taking the man who has one talent, for a genius.
Read more at http://www.notable-quotes.com/h/helps_arthur.html#mpzMv1GyXYdlOVbq.99

 

  

Of the twenty-two civilizations that have appeared in history, nineteen of them collapsed when they reached the moral state the United States is in now.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/arnold_j_toynbee.html#2jlKMVFLB2IvAJXw.99

Of the twenty-two civilizations that have appeared in history, nineteen of them collapsed when they reached the moral state the United States is in now.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/arnold_j_toynbee.html#2jlKMVFLB2IvAJXw.99

Of the twenty-two civilizations that have appeared in history, nineteen of them collapsed when they reached the moral state the United States is in now.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/arnold_j_toynbee.html#2jlKMVFLB2IvAJXw.99

EPIC FAIL!

Michael Rydelnik's mouth is as dry as the Sahara; his hands are moist, cool to the touch. The word is "clammy." He's as nervous as a mailman at a dog show.

It's 1973, and 16 year old Michael, a Jewish boy turned Christian, is standing in front of the Hebrew Club at his high school trying to defend his newly found faith in Jesus. Michael is one of 30 Jews in his school who've converted to Christianity and he's been their leader. Those 30 students have created a great deal of conversation within the confines of the school, so much of a stir that the Hebrew Club, a society within the school, has made its move to oppose the 30 by scheduling a speaker to come to one of their meetings and speak on the topic "Jews and Jesus: Why We Don't Believe in Him!"

One of the girls in the Hebrew Club, upset that many of her fellow students were believing in Jesus, went to her youth leader at her synagogue, a man let's call "Goliath." Goliath is a brilliant fellow with a Goliath education from one of the leading universities in the world. In fact, at the time of her contact, he was a graduate student in that well-known  university. He was knowledgeable in Judaism and the Bible.

In addition, this Goliath had a Goliath personality--he possessed that rare combination of talents given only to a few. He was both loquacious and eloquent, charming and persuasive with a keen sense of humor. No one knew it at the time, but this Goliath, like his ancient predecessor, was destined to become one of the impressive elite in American broadcasting. 

Goliath accepts the invitation to come to the Hebrew Club and things are set.

When Michael learns that Goliath is coming, he goes to the principal and asks if another speaker, a Jew who had converted to Christianity, could speak at the meeting.

The principal being a rarity himself, tells Michael that he cannot tell an on-campus club whom to have as a speaker, that they must decide for themselves, and that he cannot tell them to include "both sides" of an issue. (It's a rare principal who wants to develop mature students who can make mature decisions.)

Michael is disappointed in the principal's reaction, so he goes back to his group with the news. The group decides that this is too good of any opportunity to pass up, and, knowing that the meeting of the Hebrew Club will be an open one, they decide that they'll attend and speak up during the Q/A time.

Since Michael was raised in an orthodox Jewish home and has engaged several rabbis in discussions in the past year, the group selects him to be its spokesman. Michael isn't worried. He'd heard of this Goliath before, but knew only a little about him. Michael is confident.

The day arrives. Before the convening of the Hebrew Club, Michael and his group meet in an art room to pray between classes. They pray that a revival will break out in their school as a result of the up-coming meeting because for the first time, many of the students are going to hear how credible it is to believe in Jesus.

Goliath strides into the room and he speaks for 45 minutes to a hundred kids. Goliath focuses on the history of Christian anti-Semitism. His presentation is clear and compelling. Michael's heart is breaking because what Goliath is saying is true. The church does have a record of hating and persecuting the Jewish people.

When Goliath is finished, Michael stands up and identifies himself as a Jewish follower of Jesus. He admits that the record of the church has been anti-Semetic and horrific. But he tells them that that's not the issue, that the issue is whether or not Jesus fulfilled the predictions of the Messiah in  the Hebrew Bible.

It was then, Michael says, that things fell apart. Not for Goliath, but for him.

Goliath rises up, stands tall in his intellectual height, and challenges Michael to point out one specific Scripture that Jesus fulfilled. Michael takes out his Bible and begins with Genesis 3:15, which Goliath counters by saying that it's a "just so" story to explain why human beings and snakes attack each other.

Michael counters with verse after verse, which Goliath deliteralizes and spins. He takes the literal and makes it figurative and he takes the figurative and makes it literal, spinning every prediction and doing so with humor the kids love.

Michael knows that things have gone south. He can't speak as well as Goliath. He's not smooth and eloquent. Michael starts to sweat, his tongue gets tied up in knots, his hands are ice. But he keeps going and keeps getting shot down every time.

Finally the meeting is over. But Michael's misery is just beginning. Michael is angry, not at Goliath, but at himself. He feels that he's wasted an opportunity to represent Christ in public and he failed an epic fail. He chides himself for his lack of preparation, for his overconfidence, and his poor speaking ability. The only thing his fellow students saw was a bumbling, confused high school kid. He fears that God will put him on the shelf and he'll never be given such an opportunity again. This Goliath has defeated Michael's little David. Epic fail.

As the years pass, Michael pursues an undergraduate degree in Jewish Studies and the Bible and later graduates from Dallas Theological Seminary with a masters and a doctorate. Over the years, he sees that God hasn't put him on a shelf, but given him many an opportunity to lead a significant number of Jews and others to Christ.

But still, that day in high school at the Hebrew Club is like a bone in his throat. He's still gagging.

What about Goliath? Goliath, having graduated, begins to write books, hosts a local radio program, and after not so long a time, a TV talk show. Today, Goliath is a nationally syndicated, famous, and well-respected radio personality, author, and lecturer. Michael listens to him occasionally and enjoys his persuasive style. You've probably heard him too.

Through the years, people have asked Michael to debate various Jewish leaders, but he declines because, as he says, "I find such debates to be unproductive." (I agree.) But he still finds himself wanting one more opportunity to approach Goliath with his messianic slingshot.

Three or four times, various radio and talk shows have offered to arrange another Michael vs. Goliath meeting, but each time Goliath refuses. It's not because Goliath is afraid. Michael thinks it's because money talks, that is, it's because Goliath has a national listening audience and he doesn't want to lose his Christian listeners.

It's now thirty-two years after the debacle at the Hebrew Club and Michael has just published a book on the Arab/Israeli conflict. A church asks Michael to come and do an all-day seminar on that topic.

Michael arrives at the church early on the morning of the meeting in Southern California and starts getting his computer and power point ducks in an obedient row when a Jewish man, around 60, comes up to him. The man tells Michael that he's a Jew who's trusted Jesus as his Savior and as Michael continues to work with his rebellious technology, he has the feeling that this guy is somewhat familiar, and assumes that he's met him in the church since he spoke there the year before.

Michael starts getting annoyed at the man because his computer and power point paraphernalia aren't cooperating with the set up.  He finally gets everything arranged and begins to talk to the man, giving him his full attention.

The man speaks with a heavy Brooklyn accent and admits to Michael, "I'm from there." He tells Michael that he had been a high school teacher in Brooklyn," and it was then that Michael it dawns on Michael that the man had been his guitar teacher at the school.

Michael bursts out, "You're Vince Salzman--you were my teacher in high school!"

The man didn't remember Michael, and both are pleasantly surprised and so happy that they begin to hug each other and pat one another on the back. The sessions are about to start so Michael has to begin his presentation, but he can't wait until the time would be over and he could reunite with Mr. Salzman.

An hour later, Michael is listening to his teacher recount how he came to faith in Christ. It all started with a fellow teacher at the school who just happened to be Michael's history teacher, a Jewish man who'd come to faith in Christ and had talked to him about Jesus.

The conversation with his colleague was of interest to Vince and he started to wonder about the claim that Jesus might just be the Messiah. During this time, Salzman heard that someone was coming to the school to speak at the Hebrew Club about Jesus and the Jews. Thinking this might be an interesting meeting, so he decided to attend.

As he was recounting the meeting, Salzman says to Michael, "You might remember the Jewish graduate student who came to speak; he's on the radio now all over the country," and he mentions Goliath's name.  

Michael told him that he did remember the Jewish fellow who spoke at the school three decades ago.

Vince continued: "I really don't remember what the speaker said, but I do remember that there was some kid there with a Bible. And he stood up and said he was Jewish and believed in Jesus and began to quote some Messianic prophecies. The funny thing is that this guy, the speaker, had an answer for every passage the kid cited. No matter what verse the kid showed, this smart guy knocked it down, showing why it absolutely couldn't be  speaking of the Messiah.

"He had an answer for everything. But this kid wouldn't stop. Every time a verse got shot down, he'd bring up some other verse. Finally, when the whole thing was over, I got to thinking that those verses sounded pretty messianic to me. So I decided to get a Bible and read them for myself. And, as I read the Old Testament, I began to see that it really was all about Jesus. So it took a couple of years of reading the Bible and studying the prophecies, but then I became a believer in Jesus."

Then Vince asked, "Hey, do you know who that kid was?"

Michael answered, "Yes, I do; it was me!"

What a reunion that was that day in Southern California.

Michael says that he learned much that day. He learned that 32 years ago God really did use his epic fail to help someone along the way to faith. Michael learned that it was not his unrealistic self-confidence, his persuasive arguments, or his skillful handling of the Scriptures like some high school Apollos and John Chrysostom rolled into one that carried the day.

"No," Michael says, "it was the power of God's Word alone, just as the Lord said through the prophet Isaiah so long ago: 'My word that comes from My mouth will not return to me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it to do'" (55:11).

At the judgment seat of Christ when the Lord Jesus evaluates Michael's speaking at that high school club, He won't say, "Epic fail."

He'll say, "Well done. Well done."

AN OPEN LETTER TO BUD ANDERSON: FATHER KNOWS BEST

In 1954, 19,000,000 households tuned in each week to watch "Father Knows Best," and by 1960, it was finishing in the top ten every week. The program featured Robert Young as the wise father, Jim Anderson, an insurance salesman who loved his wife and children, Jane Wyatt (Margaret) was his loving and supportive wife, Elinor Donahue (Betty) their oldest child, Billy Gray (Bud) as his teenage son, and Lauren Chapin (Kathy) as his very young daughter.

The program was a mixture of wisdom and humor with a message as the Anderson family went on, week by week, facing and solving with grace, dignity, and humor, the situations families faced back then.

More often than not, the humor revolved around Billy Gray ("Bud") because of the dilemmas he would get into and the lines he would say in such a way as not to advertise, "Hey-this-is -a-joke-see?"

In one episode, Jim is reading the newspaper when his wife comes into the room, worried because their oldest daughter (Betty) is going steady. Jim reads aloud a story from a newspaper about a girl who eloped, taking $200 with which her aunt was going to buy a TV set.

Bud looks up seriously and asks, "What size screen, Dad?"

The shows' humor would be almost unrecognizable today--it was without sarcasm, double entendres, snide remarks, and put-downs. The children were decently behaved, not one step away from juvenile delinquency. Each of the three children loved each other and their parents.

The plots would be unrecognizable today as well. One episode featured Kathy's placing a crippled, rain-soaked sparrow in a nest and then going upstairs to her room and praying to God that the little bird would live. (William D. Russell directed the first 62 episodes and the cast would often see him weeping as the shows progressed, so impressed was he with the wholesome message they were conveying to the millions of us.)

Jim Anderson wasn't a bumbling fool; he was neither helpless nor clueless when it came to raising a family and dealing with the bumps and bruises of life with wisdom, love, and grace.

And now, here's the problem: Billy Gray, all grown up (he just turned 77 last month) decided that he wanted to apologize for the program that made him famous. Here's what he said about the show: "I think we were all well motivated, but what we did was run a hoax. Father Knows Best purported to be a reasonable facsimile of life. And the bad thing is that the model is so deceitful. ... If I could say anything to make up for all the years I lent myself to that kind of [program]it would be: You know best."  

His remarks bothered me to no end, so I decided to send a letter to "Bud Anderson." 

The content of the letter is as follows:

Dear Mr. Gray.

As a teenager, I and my family, along with millions and millions of others, never, and I mean, never, missed "Father Knows Best," and you were our favorite character, week after week. Hands down, no doubt it, you were just like my friends and me.

So it was with interest mingled with sadness that I read your apology for the show, noting that you said it was "deceitful" and "a hoax."

I want you to know that what you ran wasn't a hoax; the family portrayed on "Father Knows Best" was our family and the families of my friends. Your program re-enforced our values; your series showed us not what we could be, but what we were. "Father Knows Best" was our weekly vitamin pill, a weekly announcement that said, "Hey, you're on the right track. Keep it up."

My father was "Jim Anderson:: wise, full of love, grace, and humor. He and my mother were married for almost 65 years. He was a Scoutmaster who influenced about a thousand boys over the years; he encouraged each one of us to make Proverbs 3:5-6 our motto for life. Those boys went into all kinds of professions becoming doctors, educators, policemen, realtors, lawyers, scientists, and bankers. Some went into insurance, others the military; one became a radio astronomer. 

In all my years of growing up, I had only one friend whose parents got divorced. The families of my friends were rock solid, just like yours on "Father Knows Best."You five people were a reflection of who we were, not what we wanted to be. 

Nobody ever yelled in our homes, no one ever slammed a door or a cabinet. Nobody was on drugs; that was unthinkable. As far as I knew, there were no rules against bringing a gun to school because nobody would think of such a thing anyway, so why put the prohibition in the student handbook? 

Dad prayed at every meal; got up early Monday-Friday, went to the office early so he could read his Bible before giving his employer a full day's work. I never heard him complain about his job or any of his coworkers. Not once. I never saw him react in anger or hurl an unkind word at anyone.

My friends and I grew up in a city of 100,000, so we're not talking about our living in a rural village in a bubble. My friends and I were in church every Sunday and gladly so. We went to the movies, went swimming at the public pools, played football, basketball, and baseball in each others' backyards and in the park. We hunted birds with our B-B guns, and ran behind DDT trucks in our alleys to experience the phenomenon of not being able to see each other in the white smoke. We enjoyed each other and laughed a lot. 

And, oh yes, we watched "Father Knows Best," thinking, "That's our family."

My mother turned 94 this month, and you know what I sent her for her birthday? "Father Knows Best Season 1." When the gift arrived, she called me, thrilled to death. It brought back such great memories of our family and yours, and the way it was.

You didn't run a hoax, Mr. Gray. Have no regrets. That's the way we were, like Jim, Margaret, Betty, Bud, and Kathy Anderson. 

10,000 blessings,

Dr. Mike Halsey

PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN: DEAD AT 46

They found Philip Seymour Hoffman dead in his apartment on February 2, 2014. Amid the shock at the death of one so young, tributes have been pouring in from those who knew him and those who knew him from afar, only through his films. Typical of the tributes is the following:

Susan Sarandon wrote, "PSH was a genius."

I wonder about that statement. Was PSH  a genius?

This statement needs serious thought in the light of this tragedy.

What is a genius?

Augustine (354-430 AD) wrote: "Genius is the reasonable soul, particular in each man." And Arthur Helps wrote: There is hardly a more common error than taking the man who has one talent, for a genius."

In the light of those definitions, was PSH a genius?

Those statements (all three) are food for thought, but let's think about this by asking some questions which seem harsh, but please read to the end.

QUESTIONS

Does a genius spend $1,200 on a single delivery of drugs?
Does a genius go out looking for drugs and drug dealers?
Do we see a genius slumped over in his first class seat on an airline because he's too drunk to be conscious?
When the flight lands in NYC, does a genius have to be taken off the plane, put in a cart, and be driven because he's too drunk to walk?
Does a genius find that someone has taken a humiliating photo of his being slumped and unconscious on the plane and now it's on the Internet and in the newspapers?
Does a genius turn his $10,000 a month apartment into a drug den, stashing 70 bags of heroin in the trash, under his bed, on a table, and in a desk, some used, most full, along with a charred spoon in the kitchen sink?
Does a genius, being interviewed on national television, say, "It was all drugs and alcohol [after I graduated], yeah. It was anything I could get my hands on . . . I like it all."
Does a genius, when asked, "What do you do?" by a stranger who didn't recognize him, say, "I'm a heroin addict."
Is a genius someone who's unable to deal with life apart from drugs?
Does a genius betray the trust of his three children, ages 5, 7, and 10 so he can have what he wants, caring nothing for what they need, like a mature father who can cope with life?
Is a genius found dead in his underwear, in the bathroom, with a needle dangling from his left arm?
Does a genius destroy himself?

Those questions do need some thought, especially by the young and the young adults who we're training by default to idolize the Justin Biebers and the Miley Cyruses in our midst. (Outrageous behavior always gets the ink and they know it.)

Solomon has a word for PSH in a book he wrote; it's a text tailor made for the celebrities, the glitterati, and those who are famous for being famous. Solomon wrote:

"Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me. All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor. Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun."(Ecclesiastes 2:9-11)

Instead of going to the Creator and the Savior, PSH went to his ATM to get $1200 worth of pleasure he wasn't "going to withhold from his heart" . . . this was the "reward" he chose for "all his labor." 

Instead of his ATM, I think a genius would have gone to Proverbs:

"My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. . . “ . . But he who listens to me shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil . . . Discretion will guard you, understanding will watch over you, to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things . .  . My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; For length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man."

Was PSH a genius? Not if the definitions with which we began are true. I think a genius is the man, woman, boy, or girl who "remembers their Creator," those who bow their minds and hearts to the wisdom of the book of Proverbs, those for whom, "For me to live is Christ." 

Give me those geniuses every time. I need them surrounding me.

If PSH wasn't a genius, what was he? He was heartbreak waiting to happen. His life, times, and death are a tragic story. 

When Philip Seymour Hoffman stepped into eternity on February 2, 2014, God wept. 
_________________________________________________________________________

Dr. Mike Halsey is the chancellor of Grace Biblical Seminary, a Bible teacher at the Hangar Bible Fellowship, and the author of Truthspeak, available on Amazon.com. A copy of his book, Microbes in the Bloodstream of the Church, is also available as an E-book on Amazon.com. If you would like to a receive a copy of his weekly Bible studies and other articles of biblical teaching and application, you can do so by writing sue.bove@gmail.com and requesting, "The Hangar Bible Fellowship Journal."

If you would like to contribute to his ministry according to the principle of II Corinthians 9:7, you may do so by making your check out to Hangar Bible Fellowship and mailing it to 65 Teal Ct., Locust Grove, GA 30248. All donations are tax deductible.

Come visit the Hangar some Sunday at 10 AM at the above address. You'll be glad you did.

Other recommended grace-oriented websites are:

notbyworks.org
literaltruth.org
gracebiblicalseminary.org
duluthbible.org
clarityministries.org

Also:

Biblical Ministries, Inc.
C/O Dr. Richard Grubbs
P. O. Box 64582
Lubbock, TX 79464-4582

There is hardly a more common error than that of taking the man who has one talent, for a genius.
Read more at http://www.notable-quotes.com/h/helps_arthur.html#mpzMv1GyXYdlOVbq.99"There is

There is hardly a more common error than that of taking the man who has one talent, for a genius.
Read more at http://www.notable-quotes.com/h/helps_arthur.html#mpzMv1GyXYdlOVbq.99

There is hardly a more common error than that of taking the man who has one talent, for a genius.
Read more at http://www.notable-quotes.com/h/helps_arthur.html#mpzMv1GyXYdlOVbq.99

There is hardly a more common error than that of taking the man who has one talent, for a genius.
Read more at http://www.notable-quotes.com/g/genius_quotes.html#oeB2elomQUmDyLoO.9"There is hardly a more common error than taking a man who has but one talent for a genius." Arthur Helps

There is hardly a more common error than that of taking the man who has one talent, for a genius.
Read more at http://www.notable-quotes.com/g/genius_quotes.html#oeB2elomQUmDyLoO.99

There is hardly a more common error than that of taking the man who has one talent, for a genius.
Read more at http://www.notable-quotes.com/g/genius_quotes.html#oeB2elomQUmDyLoO.99

There is hardly a more common error than that of taking the man who has one talent, for a genius.
Read more at http://www.notable-quotes.com/g/genius_quotes.html#oeB2elomQUmDyLoO.99