© 2012 by Stacy Lynn Harp, M.S.

Last night I was going through Netflix and spotted a television show called Celebrity Rehab.  I had heard of the program before, but had never watched it, until last night.  For some reason, I just wanted to watch something different and so my husband and I tuned into the first episode in season three, which aired in 2009. The celebrities featured were Heidi Fleiss, Mackenzie Phillips, Dennis Rodman, and a few others that I had never heard of, including Mike Starr who I just found out died last year.

Watching this program was like looking at a car accident on the freeway. It was hard to look away from the devastation each person brought to the show, and I have to admit that I cried when I watched it.  I also slept very little because I couldn't stop thinking about the horror of it all.

In my work as a marriage and family therapist I worked for about eight years with women who were drug addicted, victims of domestic violence, incest and rape survivors, and yet seeing these individuals at their lowest, on this program was worse than anything I had witnessed personally....and that's saying something.

I've sat with women who had the daylights beaten out of them, while their black eyes and bruises got darker.  I've seen scars from cutting, needles and razor scars in the arms of the women I worked with.  But what no one really tells you about is the unbelievable devastation of their broken hearts.

Celebrity Rehab reminded me of a few things that I thought I'd share with you.  Maybe we all need this reminder.

1.  Satan Promises the World, but Doesn't Tell You the End is Death

Let me explain this as simply as I can.  The bible teaches that God has allowed Satan to be the ruler of this world.  2 Corinthians 4:4 says, "In whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."  In the gospel of John 12:31 we see the devil referred to as the prince of this world.

Here we see something important.  Satan is a deceiver and has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, so they can't see the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Satan is a liar, accuser and everything he tempts a person to do will end up in death, if a person caves to the temptation.

I couldn't help but think of the lie that our world constantly puts in front of our faces through the media.  We live in such an age that everyone can be a star, and that job is glorified despite the fact that we know so many who go down that road die early.  I'll spare you a list of celebrities, because we all know them.

2.  Fame and Fortune Often Lead to Intense Loneliness

Something I heard each celebrity say over and over again when Dr. Drew Pinsky asked them why they took their drug of choice, is that they all said they were bored.  The word bored can always be translated lonely.  If you hear someone say they are bored, instantly think lonely.

I felt really sad for all of the celebrities because here they all were in a place where the world knows who they are, and they are often adored by millions and yet, they were "bored".

Heidi Fleiss said that she had never attached to anyone in her life, but she really loved her the birds that were given to her.  Mackenzie Phillips revealed that she had sexual relations with her father, as an adult.  Dennis Rodman obviously used alcohol and sex to comfort himself...it's a tragedy.

The good news is that the bible teaches that the Lord sets the lonely in families (Psalm 68:6) and He hears the cry of the lonely.  In fact, you may recall that God made Eve for Adam because there wasn't anything else that was suitable for him.  Adam needed human companionship, and when Adam and Eve stayed in obedience to God, things were great. When they listened to the serpent, also known as Satan, and they did what that serpent said, it lead right to death.

3.  There is No One Good

The last thing I wanted to share with you is that over and over again, each celebrity talked about how they were bad.   I found the shame each of them felt almost palpable.  But at the same time, I thought of Romans 3:12 which says, "All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."

I think the honest individual already knows that.  We all know that our hearts are desperately wicked and deceitful, which is why we try so hard to hide our sin.  Watching Celebrity Rehab is a great way to see all of us in our human condition.  No one has it all together, and even though these celebrities may be addicted to certain substances, we all have used something to cover our pain, shame and loneliness.

The good news in all of this is that this is exactly why Jesus came down from heaven to earth, and took on the form of man, lived in our human skin, and then was crucified for all of our sin.  He did not want us to be alone and left dead in our sin.

The greatest story ever told is that Jesus did all of this and He literally conquered death when He rose from the dead.  This is what Easter is really all about.  This is the good news that the Christian has.

Now my question to you is this, if you are a follower of Jesus and you're keeping that good news to yourself...why?  We have all seen what the little god of this world, Satan, offers...and we know it leads to death.

But God offers so much more and it leads to life!

John 3:16-21 tells us the following:

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20“For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21“But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

This is GOOD NEWS and the reason why I always rejoice when I hear about a celebrity really having a conversion in heart, mind and soul to the truth that is in the Bible.  Jesus paid for all of our sins, and all we have to do is believe that and receive it.

I urge you to pray for Hollywood and celebrities, and I urge you to go and tell someone the gospel, because dollars to donuts, the person you're going to share the good news with is going to be feeling lonely, ashamed and destructive.

Image: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net