Amy Winehouse “Fans”

In the wake of the tragic death of singer Amy Winehouse, many videos and interviews have surfaced talking about what led up to her death. One of those videos really caught my attention more than the rest. It was a video of her at one of the last concerts she held, and she looked absolutely lost on stage and forgotten the lyrics. As she stood there, boos ensued, and she had to leave the stage and cancel the concert.

Now, I know most people focus on her in this video and want to talk about the ravaging effects of drug use, which is important. But the thing that struck me most was the booing. The circumstances were that thousands of people had paid money to go see her, and were essentially her “fans.” Think about what that term means for a minute - to be a “fan.” And these “fans” booed her offstage in one of her greatest moments of weakness. This showed to me that those in attendance really weren’t there for her - they were there for them, and when they didn’t get what they wanted, they reacted negatively. Their “fandom” was immediately revoked when they didn’t get what they wanted.

It just illustrates yet again the broken system of this world. It’s an illusion. Think about the Cleveland Cavs fans when LeBron left. They were burning his jersey in the streets - yet again, when what they wanted was taken away, their real loyalties were seen for what they were, purely self-centered. They were never a fan of LeBron, only of what he did for them. When he did something for himself and not them, they hated him. When Ms. Winehouse couldn’t perform at her concert, they booed her.

Now for the good news - the kingdom of God is not like this. What I’ve just described is the world’s system - the broken one. And it’s set up to be an illusion - we “love” you - we’re your “fans”! Unless you don’t do what we want you to, then we will hate you, proving that all along we never loved you, just what you could do for us. It was always about us, not you.

The kingdom of God stands in contrast to those ideas. God tells us that He loves us NO MATTER WHAT WE DO. It’s not about what we do for Him, but about the fact that He loves us unchangingly and forever. If you decide to go on a sinning binge and get drunk for a month straight, womanize, and beat up anyone that gets in your way - guess what? God still loves you exactly the same. It’s not an illusion, and we don’t have to earn it - in fact, it’s impossible to earn. He just gives us His love for free. And He never retracts it.

And where you find true Christians, who follow the Father, and participate in his kingdom, you will find people who treat you the same way. You may screw up around them, but they will forgive you and continue to love you. They will not be swayed, and neither will God. And if that’s not good news in light of the current events we see all around us, I don’t know what is.

My final thought on this post is about Amy Winehouse in particular. I did not know too much about her, but I was truly saddened by her death. When watching the interviews and the recaps of her decline, it was just so heart-wrenching to see a young person ultimately defeated by drugs and alcohol, and seeming so lost on stage in that last performance. It’s not God’s plan for people. Going to listen to some of her music today in remembrance.