Filling the Void

Hi, this is Hank, Kelsey's husband.  I told Kelsey I had some ideas to blog about and she let me guest post on her blog.  This may happen on occasion, but don't worry, Kelsey will be back in full swing tomorrow.


Have you ever thought about the history of rock music?  Just of popular music in general, I guess.  It blows me away sometimes how, with all the songs that are out there, there are still originals being created today.  No two songs sound exactly alike.

Think about the immense talent that singers, songwriters, bands, and musicians in general have been given.  They didn't just get their talent.  It was given to them, created into them in their mothers' wombs.  God put a desire in each and every one of them to sing, play, write, and perform.  Many artists live for the performance, thrive off that energy from the crowd.  For a short time, it fills them, makes them whole.

But what about the other times?  What about in the hotel, on the tour bus, eating dinner after a show.  What makes them whole then?  What fills them?  Sadly, all the wrong things.  Drugs, women (for guy bands), men (for chick bands), alcohol, porn, sex, violence (no, I'm not a pacifist, but finding pleasure in violence is wrong), hate.  You can hear it in some of their music.

Jim Morrison of The Doors

I was talking to a friend today and that conversation actually got me thinking about music.  He was telling me about some of the bands he liked in high school (he's in his 50s).  Bands like The Doors, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, The Who, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Jimi Hendrix, to name a few.  After some of them, he told me about the deaths of the band members.  Keith Moon and John Entwistle of The Who both died of drug overdoses.  Jim Morrison of The Doors died in Paris at age 27.  He was found in his hotel room bathtub, but no autopsy was done by the French.  There is no doubt that drugs played into his death.  Jimi Hendrix passed out from a drug trip, then threw up while he was unconscious.  He choked on his own vomit, since he was lying on his back when he threw up.  Elvis died in a pool of his own vomit in his bathroom at Graceland, also from a drug trip.  Just a side note, but by the time he died, Elvis was so grossly obese and had so many health problems, he couldn't even get out of his hotel room bed for a concert in Baton Rouge, LA.  Ray Charles had drug problems.  Johnny Cash did as well.  I Googled musicians who had drug related deaths.  I got 4.73 million results.  That was rockstars, not even actors or athletes.

Why do so many rockstars fall into drugs?  Why are so many angry and full of hate?  They have this immense talent that has been given to them and yet they kill themselves to fill this void that they have.  It's the same void that you and I have, the same one everyone has.  Nothing in this world can ever fill it.  No screaming crowd, no amount of sex, drugs, alcohol, or porn.  That all just feeds into a desire for more and fosters deep addictions.

Think about it.  Most average people want to be famous, to have money, to have people know them, to be able to do anything and go anywhere.  These artists had that, yet they still weren't happy.  Money, fame, and lack of responsibility doesn't lead to happiness.  It doesn't fill the void in your soul.

You know what all those musicians needed?

They needed God.  God is the only one who can fill that void in a person's soul.  That void is specifically shaped so that he is the only one that can fit into it to fill it.  No amount of money, drugs, alcohol, anger, sex, fame or anything else will ever fill it up.  You want happiness?  Quit trying to become a millionaire and spend some time getting right with God.  Ask him what he wants you to do.  Ask him what he has in store for your life.  Keep asking.  You might not get an answer right away, but keep asking.  You also may not get an answer you expect.  He created you for a specific purpose.  He has a specific spot on this Earth that only you can fill.  He gave you dreams and desires that will ultimate lead to him being glorified and the world being changed, if only a little bit.

Jimi Hendrix

It starts with surrender, though.  Just think what would have happened if Jim Morrison or Jimi Hendrix had turned to God instead of anger and drugs.  Seriously, that would have been world changing.  The course of history may be different if they had only surrendered to Jesus, giving their lives and dedicating themselves to their true Father.  They were just seeking the wrong things, like so many of us do.  I'm sure they heard of God, heard of Jesus, but figured that everything else was more "fun."

I'm truly terrible at telling people about Jesus.  Honestly, it scares me to no end.  I'm completely comfy talking to other Christians about Christianity, but I'm terrified to tell a lost soul about Jesus.  Jimi Hendrix probably knew a few Christians, maybe even had some in his circle of friends.  But nobody ever spoke up.

I need to speak up.  I need to lift my voice to those in need, even if they don't appear they are in need on the outside.  I need to show them God, since their void is made to be filled by him.  Pray for me, that I would speak up more.  Pray that God will show me opportunities and that I would take them.  I'll pray for you too.  We don't need to go overseas to be missionaries.  We just need to open up our true selves and speak truth to those around us.

To inspire you, go YouTube Jimi Hendrix (listen to that guitar playing) or The Who and just listen to their talent.  In the end, it meant nothing in the grand scheme of things.  It could have meant so much more and had so much more impact had someone just consistently spoken truth to them.