The Boss, The Benjamins and Commandment #2
Channel: Christopher Boorman Speaks
Date: 2023-02-08

Shalom, Mabuhay and welcome. Last weekend “Backstreets” a popular website devoted to singer Bruce Springsteen shut down after more than 30 years. Now it’s no surprise when a website shuts down, even one that has been around a long time. But this website shutting down made national headlines. Naturally, some of Springsteen’s most solid fans, who were regular visitors to the site, were upset. They called it “the end of an era”, and it was. The reasons the owners gave were two fold 1) They had been doing this for 30 years and they were getting old and tired but the second is key. 
When Springsteen announced his most recent tour, ticket prices were through the roof. Some tickets cost up to $5,000. That’s over 273,000 pesos. That doesn’t even include parking fees. Or a hot dog or a soda. Many of the solid fans were in an uproar. But he’s been a millionaire nearly his whole life. He’s 73 now. How many more millions does this “working class hero” need? When Springsteen was directly asked about it. He said “Well, if there’s any complaints, you can have your money back on the way out”. On the way out? The fans don’t have enough money to get IN!!
For the Backstreets fansite, this was the straw that broke the camel’s back. This was something that they could not defend. And you know solid fans, they will defend everything their idol does. Backstreets had had enough and after 30 years, shut down. 
Now I’m not knocking making money. I didn’t start this YouTube channel for my health. I started it to sell ads it and to get  PAID speaking engagements. And a concert isn’t a necessity like food or water. And if you have $5,000 to spend on a concert ticket. Go for it! I hope you have a great time. But for 50 years, Springsteen at least pretended like he cared about the regular guy. His persona, his image, his words were crafted to resonate with the common people. Most of his songs played up the whole “I’m a hard working lunch pail man in the steel mill” schtick. But now I recall the final chorus to one of Springsteen’s songs. “So when you look at me. You better look hard and look twice. Is that me? Or just a brilliant disguise?” Now we know. Bruce Springsteen plus glitter, equals David Bowie.
So what can we learn from this? Look to the second commandment. You shall have NO idols, American or otherwise. God wants us to place our faith, our trust, our belief in HIM, not in people. ESPECIALLY NOT celebrities like rock stars, movie stars, reality stars, politicians or YouTubers! Why? Because you are putting your trust in something that ultimately cannot be trusted. People are fallible. That means they fail. And when we trust in people, we are trusting something that will eventually fail. Your parents, your spouse, your friends, your pastor will ultimately fail you if you put your trust in them. And they will usually fail you at the time you need them the most. That’s human nature. That’s life. Either they will be powerless to help you in our troubles, or you just won’t be a priority for them at that particular time. Springsteen’s fans learned that the hard way. In a time when animosity between the rich and the poor has never been greater in America, Bruce Springsteen, took his mask off and revealed his true self. He didn’t care about you. He cared about the Benjamins, the cash, the money. The common man was not a priority for him, and maybe never was. 
God wants us to put our trust in HIM, because HE will not fail us. In Deuteronomy 31:6 God says “Never will I leave you, nor forsake you.” To forsake means “to forget about.” God always keeps His promises. If you are one of God’s adopted children, He will not leave you. He will not forget about you. Isaiah 49:15 says “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?” (By the way...YES. That can and does happen). The verse continues “Though SHE may forget, I will not forget you.” That’s comforting words isn’t it? 
So let me ask you. Are you putting your trust in God? Have you become one of His adopted children through the blood of His son Jesus Christ? If not, I want to invite you to do that right right now. Just talk to God, He’ll hear you. Tell God you know you’re not good enough to get into heaven on your own, and you believe what Jesus said, that He is the only way to get to the Father and that he bled and died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins. And receive that free gift of salvation and a new relationship with an all powerful God who loves you and will never leave you.
Miraming salamat for watching. God bless you.