Gene Simmons and Jesus

I have recently become very fond of the A&E show Gene Simmons Family Jewels.  I found it entertaining a few years ago when it first came out because I was fascinated by how this guy with a huge tongue and makeup was actually a brilliant entrepreneur. But then I lost interest until I was flipping through channels a few weeks ago and got sucked into the latest saga in his life. It’s hard to tell how much is scripted, but I’m inclined to believe that what I was watching was indeed reality. I guess I just don’t believe that all four members of the family are that good of actors. If so, they should own Hollywood because there’s not an actor alive who could pull this off.

Essentially, after years of putting up with it, Gene’s lifelong girlfriend Shannon Tweed can no longer tolerate his lifestyle. The womanizing rock star she fell in love with as a young playboy model is not what she wants as a middle aged woman whose kids are now grown up. So Gene must make decisions.  He must discover who he is and decide who he is going to be. This is where it gets interesting.

As you watch the episodes unfold what you’re actually seeing is a man who was on top of the world crumble before your very eyes. You witness the reality that even for Gene Simmons the money and fame and women are not enough. Deep down he has immense amounts of pain that date back to his early childhood. He carries the struggles and habits of his father and you realize that the pain he’s causing his own family has roots prior to his own birth. You watch the walls fall and the internal battle between self and selfless wage on. In the end, you find him on his knees two different times. Once at the grave of his father who he never went to see since he was taken to America at age 7. There he balls his eyes out while confessing his arrogance. A few episodes later, you see him on his knees proposing to Shannon. I guess next season we find out if she says yes.

There are several lessons to take away from this story and each of us could find ourselves in any one of the characters. But the lesson I take away comes in the form of a question: How long do we suffer? Or, how long before we all fall to our knees? We are all full of pride and arrogance; some of us like Gene make it more visible than others. So how long do we pay the price for pride?  Ironically I find the answer to be the same everywhere I look. Whether from a reality TV show, the Bible, or the history of America, the answer is always the same. Generation after generation will pay for our pride. 

I’ve been there. As I look back at my life the last several years, my most stressful moments are the result of my most prideful moments. The trickle down effects of selfish decisions have hurt every area of my life and have affected nearly every member of my family, immediate and extended. My pride created a mess and I try not to think of how long it will take to clean it up. I have literally and figuratively been on my knees. Sure I can point fingers at others, but ultimately it falls on me. C.S. Lewis labeled pride as “The Great Sin” and went as far as to say that “it was through pride that the devil became the devil: pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.
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One thing I appreciate about the Gene Simmons show is that no one, not Shannon, their kids, his best friends, or even his therapist points their fingers at anyone but Gene. They force him to face it. Even Gene has learned to point the finger at himself, and it’s made him a better man from what I can tell. The question for us is: Will we face our own pride? We live in a society where irresponsibility has become part of our DNA. There’s always someone else who should be providing for us and always someone else to blame when things don’t work. We deserve an abundant prosperous life. This is found in our homes, or governments, our communities, and even our churches. I’m only one of a billion people to identify it, but how do we each deal with? 

Ironically however, we edify the selfless who pay the price for others. Throughout history the most sacrificial people, those with the least selfish pride, are the ones held in the highest regard for generation after generation.  We stand and applaud the veteran and the martyr. Jesus talked about selflessness in a way that seems almost foolish. But yet the great religions of the world are built on his teachings. Even when wronged he tells us to forgive and turn the other cheek. Is that the opposite of pride? Is ultimate, seemingly foolish forgiveness the exact opposite of the pride that’s destroying us generation after generation?

While I’m convinced that the punishment for pride is immeasurable and is felt for generations, I don’t believe that God is up there smiting children for the sins of their ancestors. What I’m suggesting is that the trickle down affects of our selfish pride are lasting beyond our immediate comprehension. We don’t need God to send lighting bolts because the consequences are natural and unavoidable.

Our greatest struggles are a result of our greatest moments of selfish pride. Look at our national history for example. The price for slavery is still being paid and its origins are found in African tribes hundreds of years ago, before it was even a western racial issue. Look at our economic struggles. Our recession and debt crisis are the result of the pride of generations. We must have better stuff and be number one in the world so let’s spend, borrow, build and spend some more. And who will suffer as a result? Generation after generation. From the first pride-motivated act ever recorded, Cain & Abel, we learn the consequences. So why don’t we change? I think the answer is above; we don’t change because it just seems foolish. Only the strong survive.

I write this today because I was recently wronged and I struggle with what to do. I’m also watching two friends go through similar situations. All of us at some point have been wronged by another. Sometimes maliciously, sometimes as a result of selfish carelessness. We’ve all trusted someone and gotten screwed. We should have known better. Their actions have caused our families great hardship. Many of us have probably done the same to someone else. So, when these situations arise, and we’re on the trampling end, how should we act? Are there lessons from history that we should be paying attention to? Do we act “foolish” and turn the other cheek or do we go get what we think we deserve?

These are the moments that define us. If only the strong survive then I believe the strongest of us are the ones that know when to let go.