What the "Whitney" Biopic Taught Me

Yes, I was 1 of the 4.5 million people who watched the Whitney Houston biopic on Lifetime last Saturday.  Since then there have been many critiques of the movie, including how it marred Whitney's name and redeemed Bobby Brown's.  Some people say it should've been entitled "Bobby & Whitney's Love Story" while others say it should have been called "It's Not Bobby's Fault!"  Ha!  Well no matter how you feel about the movie I'm sure all 4.5 million of us can agree that Whitney Houston was depicted as a human being.  She was supernaturally talented but not supernatural.  She had a voice of an angel, but was no angel.  She was, in fact, like you and me. 

The movie started like it was the Part 2 of what aired a week or two before.  We missed her upbringing.  We missed her choir singing.  We missed her rise to fame.  We were, instead, immediately introduced to Whitney the superstar who casually smoked lines of cocaine.  After meeting Bobby Brown we saw her fear of commitment juxtaposed with her willingness to engage in the deepest form of intimacy.  After finally conceding and marrying Bobby Brown, despite her mother's disapproval, she was faced with what we all fear the most, betrayal.  Sex, drugs, and music seemed to be her only escape from the harsh reality, that even with fame, money, and love, the void she so longed to fill remained empty.

I never want to over spiritualize or oversimplify the complexities of life, however it has been made clear to me through the life of Whitney Houston, Robin Williams, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse and countless others that there is a void in all of us that we desperately long to fill.  It is not gender specific.  It is not racially disproportionate.  It is not economically biased.  It is a God-given hunger for someone or something that cannot be contained (check out Ecclesiastes 3:11).  Something that cannot be bought or earned.  Something that can only be given.  Although perversion, drug use, and suicide is experienced everywhere it is always surprising to hear about it's prevalence in Hollywood because this is the one place where most people feel happiness and contentment is at it's peak.  Where money is not an object, friends come a dime a dozen, and prestige is commonplace what else could one need??

Young or old.  Poor or wealthy.  Everyone is granted at least one need.   Even if it's unacknowledged it is there and will squirm until it's filled.  The need is found internally.  It is often superficially filled by external things, but is only temporarily satisfied at best.  The only way to meet this need wholly is through an active relationship with our creator.  I say active because the relationship has to be alive and in motion.   It cannot be something that was only once declared or achieved, but something that is fed on a consistent basis to ensure its vitality (check out Isaiah 26:3) .  This relationship will make the difference when betrayal knocks on your door.  It will lift you when depression creeps under the doorpost.  It will encourage you when discouragement chases you.  Contrary to popular belief, it will not prevent downs but will keep you in perfect peace in the presence of them all!  How many more celebrities have to die?  How many more people have to be imprisoned? How many more substitutions do we have to try before realizing everything we need is wrapped up in Jesus Christ.  And the good news is, He's simply a prayer away.

#walkthetalk

-Sarah