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Where Charlie Sheen and the Bible Agree

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I suppose if you run out of Facebook status ideas this week, you could always choose from any number of Charlie Sheen quotes that are, well, extremely Charlie Sheenish:

I'm on a drug, it's called 'Charlie Sheen.'

I’m not bi-polar,  I'm bi-winning. I win here, I win there.

Or my personal favorite: "I mean, what's not to love? Especially when you see how I party. Man, it was epic. The run I was on made Sinatra, Flynn, Jagger, Richards all of 'em just look like droopy-eyed armless children."

As you may have guessed, the man who was formerly one of the highest paid actors on television has lost his job and many would say his mind as well. To say that Charlie Sheen is having a meltdown is like saying the city of New Orleans had a bad day when Katrina hit.

You may find this surprising, but I can totally see where Charlie is coming from.  No, not because I’ve imitated his lifestyle in any manner (although I thought his performance in Young Guns was borderline genius) - I have a much higher truth source for this one:

And why do you think I keep risking my neck in this dangerous work? I look death in the face practically every day I live. Do you think I'd do this if I wasn't convinced of your resurrection and mine as guaranteed by the resurrected Messiah Jesus? Not on your life! It's resurrection, resurrection, always resurrection, that undergirds what I do and say, the way I live. If there's no resurrection, "We eat, we drink, the next day we die," and that's all there is to it (1 Corinthians 15:30; 32).

This is the Apostle Paul writing to a group of people who decided that death is the end of a person, and therefore there will be no resurrection from the dead that Jesus promised would happen at the end of time.  Paul’s argument is that if all there is in life is this life and no afterlife; we might as well make all of life a never-ending, raging party.

Kind of like Charlie Sheen - right? The man might appear to have enrolled in Crazy U with a sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll major, but behind the tweets and the quotes there is a profound statement:“One day I will die and that will be the end of me, so I might as well get every possible pleasure while I can.”

So the Bible and Charlie Sheen agree…up to a point that is.  You and I both know that we are not defined by our physical bodies, and this existence is not limited by time.  We aren’t bodies that have souls, we are souls that inhabit bodies, and one day we will be in the same place as the Charlie Sheen of Jesus’ day:

Then Jesus told them this story: "The farm of a certain rich man produced a terrific crop. He talked to himself: 'What can I do? My barn isn't big enough for this harvest.' Then he said, 'Here's what I'll do: I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I'll gather in all my grain and goods, and I'll say to myself, Self, you've done well! You've got it made and can now retire. Take it easy and have the time of your life!' 

"Just then God showed up and said, 'Fool! Tonight you die. And your barnful of goods—who gets it?'

"That's what happens when you fill your barn with Self and not with God" (Luke 12:16-21).

Interesting, isn’t it?  People who deny the existence of the soul and the reality of a Judgment Day have been around since the beginning of time.  But Jesus makes it crystal clear that one day God will show up - and require us to give an account for how we used or misused our life here on earth.

So at this point you have a choice between two radically different life directions. There have been and always will be the “fools” people who live as if there is no God and afterlife, and there also have and always will be the “followers”—people who know that their time here on earth is but a temporary loan where we have an incredible opportunity to share the love and message of Jesus Christ with everyone we know and live out THE Cause Christ has called us to.

It doesn’t take a genius to see that Charlie’s barn is filled with self, and it also doesn’t take a genius to realize that our time here simply cannot be wasted on temporary and foolish things.

If tonight your soul was required of you, would God judge you to be a fool or a follower of Christ?  The choice is yours and THE Cause awaits!

 

Charlie Sheen’s meltdown is a great discussion starter about whether or not the party life truly brings happiness and lasting satisfaction.  This week, talk to your friends about what’s happening in his life and pray for an opportunity to take the conversation to the truth of the gospel.

 

Jesus, thank you for warning us against our natural tendency towards greed.  Father, help us not to be foolish with the time you have given us.  Fill us with your Spirit so we can live out THE Cause every day.

Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15).

For compliments and conversation starters that will help you share your faith with specific worldviews from Agnostic to Wiccan, check out this free resource page on the Dare 2 Share website, How to Share Your Faith With…