Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous

     Well, we are back from our vacation. The lifestyle of vacation with family was a good change. Observation of the lifestyle of the rich and famous was not so appealing… Stephen and I took two of our daughters to L. A. and Disneyland in California.

     Wow, all that money and prestige in the Beverly Hills area and the cities around them seems to be causing them to fall apart morally. Actually, corrupt morals seem to be taking over around all major cities and I wonder, What happened to the environment I grew up in? Then I remember Ecclesiastes 1:9, which states: “There is nothing new under the sun,” and realize that the setting I remember was guarded by family and unconditional love. Love is what I actually remember. Time with loved ones is what I longed for this week, to get away and focus on each other. That is exactly what we did.

     Disney was fun, but can be a deception to those who take hope in unrealities of fictional stories; life isn’t always happily ever after. Hollywood was intriguing, yet gloomy at the same time. The human depravity that surrounds the illusion of happily ever after and the rich and famous lifestyle creeps in and makes itself a prominent eyesore: unchecked humanism gone wild in a materialistic self-focused generation. Then there was the ever-so-obvious cultural parental pressure of trying to have kids find hope in an unfulfilling dream of Disney’s “all your dreams can come true.” Yet their kids were crying in the line for a ride and screaming for more or something different. What their parents gave them was never enough, and they all walked away unsatisfied. This groping for satisfaction is so sad to the parents because they were spending a lot of money and built this vacation up in their heads and their kids’ heads. It was also sad to watch, knowing that this is false hope. I am not against Disney; we have loved singing their songs in our family and reading the stories about good and evil with the good always winning. But, they are just that — stories and not truth. There is no hope in these stories; they are just fantasies that you or I could write. Our family loves books, stories, and movies, so of course we loved Disney, but our hope is not in these things.

     A rainbow flag now stands for “homosexuals welcome” and divides one supposed “social group” against another. What is really sad is that the rainbow was a sign of hope, a promise of God that He would not flood the earth again. Yet, now all you have to say is rainbow and people think of a link to homosexuality. It brought a lot of good conversations during our family vacation, that is for sure.

     I personally walked away with a greater sense of urgency for those who need true hope. The hope of true restoration found only in Jesus Christ. I pray the people we met recognized the presence of Jesus in our lives and actions.

     Our vacation away really could have been spent at home, because the true element of the vacation is the love we have for one another. We are blessed to be home where true riches and blessings are always found in the salvation of Jesus Christ. We come home with a feeling of contentment and gratitude for Jesus Christ, yet a longing for others to know the only true hope that exists. We do not cry, “Help us, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you are our only hope,” but we cry, “Help us, Lord Jesus, You are the only true hope.” Our world is falling apart around us but do not be disheartened; Jesus Christ has overcome the world and we find peace in Him. (John 16:33)

Thank you for taking the time to read my contemplations.

With Much Joy,
©Darla J. Smith
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