The John Terry affair that has hit the headlines recently has led me to consider this 'rags to riches' story with the signpost reversed. I believe that when we zoom in on our present culture and what much of it is like in this country we can see an interesting and edifying truth about what people really are coveting these days. In John Terry, we see a man who supposedly has what thousands of aspiring young people have; fame, exquisite football skill, trophies, captain of his club and country (although probably not for much longer in the case of the latter), tens of thousands of pounds a week in wages, an attractive wife, beautiful children, and an expensive house in a very salubrious part of London. Yet his affair, betraying his family, letting down his friends and setting a bad example to his young and aspiring admirers exposes the reality of how little fame and fortune really means when one forgets about the fundamentally special things in life - honesty, decency, love, good moral values and, if I may be so bold, a Christian supporting strap.I watched John Terry score the winning goal at Burnley recently, and of course he could not bring himself even to smile let alone celebrate. Here is a man supposedly with everything who at the moment feels like he has nothing but shame and condemnation and unpopularity - and this just goes to show the sandy foundations on which the fame and fortune lifestyles are really built.
I have not intended here to castigate Mr. Terry - he is only human and we all make mistakes. I am no one's judge, and I can only hope that he is able to learn from this and come out of it a better person. I have only intended to show the limitations of fame and fortune by itself, and that one ought to be careful abut wishing for things purely as things to covet in themselves - they do not provide the riches that one supposes.
Being a Christian I believe those riches can only be found in Christ - at least the richest of all are only those lives who have become poor for His sake and lost what they have for what can be gained through Him. The news and affair of John Terry has not only served as a reminder of the futility of a fame and fortune without any greater aspirations, but that there are better things to be had if one starts with Jesus and makes Him Lord of one's life.
