While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed." He replied, "Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it."
Blessed are you, but for what? For a singer (especially a female singer) to make it big - real big - in the modern music industry they have to have an amazing body and be willing to go all the way with it. This may sound like an opinion, but I fear it is becoming a brutal fact. Now it does not mean one cannot be a highly successful singer without an amazing body. Of course they can, it just means they really have an out-of-this-world voice.
I will not mention names to prove my point. I do not want to embarrass anyone. But apparently to be an over-the-top singer, one must have a body made to fit comfortably on a wrecking ball.
Most male singers can get away with cheap clothes, a cheap haircut and a guitar in their hands. But female singers cannot. They must be barrier busters and trendsetters, entertainers and actresses, sex symbols and glamour queens. They must look like models, act like prostitutes and operate like sex objects. They must behave like spouse wreckers, family wreckers, teenagers breaking bad and innocence gone wild. In order to remain relevant, they must make the bizarre look appealing and the gross look interesting. They have to be all of these things because at the end of the day, they are money makers, not music makers. And so they are forced to mask their music with a ton of condiments.
Are you blessed? When I was a child, I used to look up to Madonna (aka Louise Ciccone). I thought she was the greatest singer in the world, not at all because of her nasal voice but because of her choice of clothing and physical beauty. But when she got all anti-Catholic on me, I thought she was weird and never bought a single one of her albums again. Later, when she got all political on me, I knew I had made the right decision.
But Madonna was a good business woman and she set the stage for others to follow. Lady Gaga (aka Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta) is one of them.
Do you consider them blessed? I do, to a certain degree. Not because they made a ton of money selling their stuff to other human beings, but because they grew up. They are actually getting older, and not dying young! Billy Joel was wrong. It's not the good that die young, but singers!
Congratulations Madonna and Lady Gaga! You are slowing down, getting older and getting physically worn out. You are experiencing the effects of gravity and longevity. You are experiencing the effects of irrelevancy. Madonna is a mom, and like all moms her kids could care less of her long ago body and fame (all moms know what I am talking about). This is not all bad news. This may actually lead to some Good News.
I found it very heartwarming and encouraging how Elton John, Annie Lennox, Cher and Sinead O'Connor publicly came out to admonish Miley Cyrus' wild and reckless behavior and the music industry's irresponsible thirst for sucking and stripping the life out of young artists. I was particularly impressed with what Annie Lennox had to say:
"I'm disturbed and dismayed by the recent spate of overtly sexualised performances and videos. ...You know the ones I'm talking about. It seems obvious that certain record companies are peddling highly styled pornography with musical accompaniment …"
"It's depressing to see how these performers are so eager to push this new level of low. Their assumption seems to be that misogyny – utilised and displayed through oneself – is totally fine, as long as you are the one creating it. As if it's all justified by how many millions of dollars and YouTube hits you get from behaving like pimp and prostitute at the same time. It's a glorified and monetised form of self harm."
Blessed are they! They get it! They know. It is not the body or money that matters most. What counts is the heart, mind, body and soul being united and living harmony, in peace. We all know that many of these artists lived their lives for years with their soul separated from their heart, body and work. It was all due to the business they were in and lies they had believed.
Willingly or unwillingly, they all learned Christ's lessons the hard way, and at a very dear price.
Moms and dads: hug your kids today, for you are truly blessed.
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