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."

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Other recommended grace-oriented websites are:

notbyworks.org
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duluthbible.org
clarityministries.org

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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