Ever since the death of Michael Jackson on June 25, 2009, I have felt an urgency to write about a very important subject: THE MOUTH – AND THE THINGS THAT COME OUT OF IT.
Like many people during that time, I found myself mesmorized and astonished by all the hoop-la surrounding the death of the ‘king of pop’. The media circus and frenzy of the the fans were something I’ve never seen before. It was unreal to me how much the world seemed to care about this one individual. It was also quite interesting, to me, how many people weighed in their opinions of a man they’d never even met and laid out suppositions of his behavior as though it were fact.
I, like so many others, was fascinated by the eccentricities that made Michael who he was. The oddities and abnormal behavior so often displayed by him created an illusion of a man who was one card shy of a full deck. His whole life was under a microscope and every move he made was analyzed more than most fingerprints at a crime scene.
Because I am analytical and very much a realist, I do not take what I hear from others, especially the media, lightly and just believe it on a whim. I am a person who likes to dig and research and find out if what I’m hearing is truth or fiction. Everyone has an opinion on everything and I am not interested in opinion that is based on ‘feeling’ or assumption. I want facts. I want to base my beliefs on those facts. So, to try and discern some truth about the man they called the ‘king of pop’, I went straight to the source himself. I watched many an inerview given by Michael over the span of his lifetime – from the beginning of his career, through the child molestation charges, right up until his ‘This Is It’ tour preparations. And the conclusion I’ve come to is this: Michael Jackson was driven by one thing and one thing only…WORDS…..and his life is a perfect example of just how powerful words can be. ‘Death and life are in the power of the tongue.’ Proverbs 18:21 (NKJ)
Michael admitted that the obsession he had with his nose, an obsession that made him subject himself to painful plastic surgeries time and time again, came from the WORDS his father had spoken to him on an almost daily basis when he was a small child. When Michael and his brothers were practicing for the next big performance, Joe (Michael’s dad), would say to him, “Your nose is huge. I don’t know where you got that from but you didn’t get it from me! It must have come from your mother’s side of the family.” Over and over, as a young child, Michael would hear these words. And, because words are so powerful, those words penetrated his little heart and mind and caused him to believe he was ugly and somewhat deformed. As he grew and matured through adolence, already hurt and maimed by the continual degradation of his father, he would once again find the pain of words penetrating his soul. He talked candidly about an incident in an airport where his brothers were recognized by a group of girls who ran up to them screaming, “It’s the Jacksons, it’s the Jacksons.” As the girls approached the brothers one of girls asked, “Where’s little Michael?” His brother quickly responded, “He’s right here”, pointing at what was no longer a cute little chubby cheeked kid, but a tall, skinny, lanky, adolescent with acne and arms the length of Texas. At forty years of age, still feeling that moment as if it happened yesterday, Michael’s eyes filled with tears as he recalled what happened next: the girl looked at him and insensitively said, “Ew! What happened to you?!” Once again it had been confirmed in his mind just how ugly and weird he was. This deepened his obsession with his looks and caused him to refuse to look into a mirror ever again.
As he morphed into the ‘king of pop’ many words would be hurled at him that would scar him and live with him forever and drive him into obsessions and addictions that would prove to be deadly. Again, with tears in his eyes, he recalled hearing the first time the media dubbed him as ‘Wacko Jacko’ and how much that affected him. He repeated with strong, painful emotion the many criticisms and accusations the world had hurled his way, criticisms and accusations that drove him to further eccentristic behavior which then furthered the criticisms and judgments. Running from the noise and pain of those poisonous darts called words, he found himself heading into a deadly landmine of explosive artillery that would eventually explode on him and destroy him – torturously killing him from the inside out.
No matter what you may think of Michael Jackson, there is no denying that WORDS played a big part in who he became. (I could go on and on with example after example over the years of his life, but I feel it unneccesary to do so at this time.) As a steward personality (or melancholy), he was more deeply troubled by these negativities than others would have been. His deep sesitivities that were part of his natural temperment and personality caused him to be more hurt than someone who, as a strong choleric (or captain), would have been. Some of you reading this can certainly relate. For some of you, words have played a big part in what you’ve become too. Well, I guess all of us have become what we are in large part because of words – positive or negative. Not only words from a parent or guardian, but words from peers and enemies as well. Some of you reading this can relate to the verbal abuse Michael suffered, and although your life may not have taken the same drastic turn his did, you have been impaired in your ability to relate to others properly because of rejection and esteem issues you’ve lived with. Some of you were told you were a mistake, unwanted, ugly, a bother, a handful. Some of you heard the words, “I wish you were never born.” or “If I didn’t have you my life would be easier.” Some of you have grown up under the shadow of death as these powerful words hung in the air over you like a stifling cloud of asphyxiant gas.
Friends, I’m here to tell you today that you are not a bother, an accident, or a mal-formed individual. You are beautiful, created by a Genius God who made you perfect in every way. (Psalm 139) You are here on this earth WITH purpose ON purpose! I pray that the power of negative words will be broken off of your life today and that you will be able to do what God has created you to do!!!!
Now, before I end this note let me remind you what the Bible says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Proverbs 18:21 I encourage you to watch your own words as well. Be the source of life to someone, not death. Speak positive and encouraging words to others. Don’t tear them down and cause them pain.
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