What Can Be Learned From the Tragic Life of Whitney Houston

In a Feb 19 article with the above title, Todd Strandberg of Rapture Ready examined the awful price people pay for being pop celebrities. Todd wrote:

“Being a pop singer is one of the most dangerous occupations on the planet. There are dozens of websites that track the premature death of musicians. One of the most extensive sites that I found averaged all the deaths and came up with a life span of 36.9 years. The average for the general population is 75.8 years.”

Referring specifically to the death of singer Whitney Houston who was found in the bath of her Beverly Hilton hotel room with her face underwater, Todd noted that “Houston had a long history of drug problems;" and that, "Los Angeles cops are said to have found six prescription pill bottles—Xanax, Lorazepam, Ibuprofen, Midol, Amoxicillin, and Valium." It seemed obvious enough that “a cocktail of prescription drugs and alcohol” is the cause of Houston’s death.

At 68, the longevity of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones is often talked about. But Todd attributed that to just uncommon luck. But then he added, “Since Mr. Richards looks and talks like he died in 1980, there is something to be said about the quality-of-life factor.” Back home in Nigeria, many will agree that the quality of life factor is certainly a reality in the case of reggae maestro, Majek Fashek. See The Westerner (Compass), May 6)

This is how Todd concluded his thought-provoking article:

“People take drugs to escape from pain, and it's not the physical kind. Whitney Houston wasn't doing handstands the day before she died. I don't think she needed narcotics for back pain. Before Michael Jackson died, he was taking enough drugs to tranquilize a team of horses. ….

“The pain that celebrities are trying to escape from is the realization that success can't bring happiness. Mike Tyson is one of the best examples. The former heavyweight boxing champion manage to do the seemingly impossible: He blew the $300 million he earned from his career. He had excessive spending on mansions and expensive cars, but these items would hold their value. What put him in the poorhouse was women and parties that would cost $200,000 per night.

“The tragic death of people like Whitney Houston is a warning for us to be ready. Even though you and I are nobodies in the eyes of the world, we have a precious commodity that dead celebrities no longer possess: the opportunity to seek God's will.

"For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26). [http://www.raptureready.com/nm/393.html]