What were they thinking?

As I’ve been watching the news lately, I’ve noticed a common theme: celebrities doing the most ridiculous and absurd things. Here are people who have so much going for them, but yet make some of the dumbest, unwise decisions ever. Here are a few examples:

• Adam “Pacman” Jones: Most of you have probably heard this story, but Pacman is the Tennessee Titans defensive back that got into some major over the NBA All-Star weekend in Las Vegas. Pacman went to a strip club in Vegas and had his entourage bring a trash bag full of money (nearly $200,000 in cash.) Pacman got upset when the dancers started to pick up the money (umm…hello), grabbed one of the girls, and was forced to leave by the bouncers. But, with Pacman being a celebrity, he didn’t take too kindly to being told what to do. So, later on in the night, Pacman sent a member of his entourage back to the club to shoot the bouncer. Pacman got in lots of trouble for this, which included being suspended by the NFL commissioner for the entire 2007 season. Pacman wanted to appeal the commissioner’s decision to have the suspensions shortened, so he met with him to discuss how this situation has caused him to change.  Pacman even told the commissioner that he was going to self impose a curfew of midnight on himself. The commissioner didn’t shorten the suspension, and told Pacman to stay away from strip clubs and that the NFL was watching him closely.  Well…it didn’t take long for Pacman to find some more trouble. A few weeks later, Pacman was involved with another incident at a strip club in Atlanta. An ESPN article says this, “Jones, his group and three other people got into a fight, apparently over a woman, at a club around 4 a.m., officer Ariel Toledo said. Someone from Jones’ group threatened the three men, who told a security officer at the club about it.After everyone involved left the strip club — the three people in one car, and Jones and his entourage in three other cars — someone in Jones’ group shot several times into the car as it waited at a red light, police said. The driver returned fire toward the shooter. “  Seriously, I have no words to express Pacman’s stupidity.
• Tank Johnson: Tank was a unstoppable defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears, and arguably the best defensive tackle in the entire NFL. But, Tank can’t seem to stay out of trouble, even recently spending two months in the Cook County jail for violating probation on a gun charge. For that same infraction, Tank was suspended for the first 8 games by the NFL Commissioner. Lesson learned right….WRONG! Tank was recently caught in Arizona speeding and under the influence of alcohol. Seriously, who is that dumb! If you make that much money, pay someone to drive you around, or even rent a stretched Bentley limo. The Chicago Bears have had enough with Tank, and they released him last week. The only thing he’ll be sacking this season is groceries at Harris Teeter.
• Chris Benoit: Benoit, aka “The Cipppler” is probably only known by wrestling fans. He is known as one of the best technical wrestlers in the WWE today. Benoit was always a little smaller than the other competitors, but his skill and heart made up any difference. But, yesterday, Chris, his wife Nancy, and his son Daniel were all found dead in their Atlanta home. As details unfolded, it appears that the deaths were a double-murder suicide. It is still not confirmed, but it is believed that Benoit killed his wife and son sometime over the weekend, and then committed suicide on Monday. What would drive a person to do this? Here is someone that has won every accolade in their sport, is well known and respected for what he did, and has experienced success and wealth beyond compare. How does someone who have so much see their life as empty and insignificant.

As I heard all these stories and just kept shaking my head in disbelief, I realized there is a deeper, spiritual correlation here. More on that later…