Monday, May 23, 2011

Oscar de la Hoya in Rehab, or the Media's Inadvertent Service

Though a man may knock down opponents, make lots of money, and move in high powered circles, it all comes to nought if he has now Higher Power to answered.

In a way, it is refreshing to see the media expose the illicit comfort measures which celebrities pursue in their pursuit of the good life, fecklessly masking emptiness, hurt, and disillusion with success and financial favor.

True favor cannot be bottled up, thrown in a pill, wrapped in a fat paycheck, or amassed by large crowds of people clamoring for a piece of the power, yearning for the good life exuded by the well-positioned.

Even Donald Trump has acknowledged that money will not but happiness a profound admission and admonition from one who went from nearly one-billion dollars in debt to renewed notoriety and wealth through media deals and reality TV shows. He knows what he is talking about. Of course, the wisdom of the Preacher in Ecclesiastes formed this profound comclusion early on, a lesson which far too many have still failed to understand.

Returning to the current exposure of personal misfortune, Oscar de la Hoya seems to have it all: an excellent boxing record, stellar physical presence, incredible wealth, a desire to help people. And yet he still gave into illicit substances to ease himself. Beyond salivating over the downfall of a media golden boy, this incident may induce people to ask: For a man who has it all, why did he still feel the need to abuse controlled substances?

This is the message which the Media inadvertently preaches in exposing the personal and private fall-out of celebrities. Media pundits may have greedy immoral motives in humiliating celebrities who fall from grace, yet they indirectly highlight the vanity of pursuing our deepest needs in money, power, and prestige.

Or as the All-important Teacher and Savior put it: "What doth it profit a man if he gain the world, but lose his soul?" (Matt. 16:26)

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