Over the last few days every media outlet has saturated us with information, adulations, and memorializations of Michael Jackson. During this extravaganza of video and commentary, there has been a tendency to not only recognize the musical genuis of Jackson, but in so doing, to equate that musical genuis and greatness with personal greatness. Is that reality?
My personal opinion, which probably only has value to me, is that just because one possesses great ability or talent does not mean that individual also is, or was, a great person. The truth is that some people with great ability are actually quite mean, arrogant, selfish, and even cruel.
Don't misunderstand me. I never met Michael Jackson. I only know him as most of us do from his music, from news reports, and from interviews. He was a gifted performer. He could moon walk before we had a name for it. He could sell albums because the music drew us in and was different from most of his contemporary musicians. But he also held his child over the balcony ledge. He was addicted to pain killers. He had major personality and emotional issues.
So - if the microscope is placed against my life or against yours, we probably all reveal some good, strong traits, and some pretty strange behaviorial issues. In other words, as John Ortberg revealed in the title of his book: Everybody's Normal Till You Get to Know Them, we are some of those "everybodies."
My whole rant is this: I want us to start looking for greatness in the lives of those people who make a true difference in the lives of other people - those who make the most money, get the most publicity, and have the highest popularity are not necessarily the greatest people. There are teachers, police officers, firefighters, doctors and nurses, farmers, writers, and even an occasional minister or two who may measure up past those who were blessed with great talent and ability.
