Prince of the World

“Dearly beloved, We are gathered here today, To get through this thing called life, Electric word life, It means forever and that’s a mighty long time, But I’m here to tell you, There’s something else, The afterworld. A world of never ending happiness, You can always see the sun, day or night.” – Lets Go Crazy by Prince and The Revolution

For anyone who has not heard this song in the past 30 years, it opens with Prince talking over a pipe organ as if he preaching a sermon. To which he appears to describe heaven, a world of never ending happiness where you can always see the sun day or night. To those who know no better, this is description sounds right however, such is in direct contrast to the what the bible says. The Apostle John describes Heaven to us as was shown to him;

“And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.” – Revelation 21:22-23 KJV

And who don’t want never ending happiness? The world’s perception of happiness will not allow people to enter into heaven for such pleasure is taken in unrighteousness which by biblical definition is sin.

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” – John 14:6 KJV

In 1984 “Lets Go Crazy” topped the billboard charts as Prince’s 2nd number one hit, at the age of 26 he writes the lyrics;

“We’re all excited, But we don’t know why, Maybe it’s cause, We’re all gonna die. And when we do, What’s it all for, U better live now, Before the grim reaper, come knocking on your door. Tell me, are we gonna let the elevator bring us down, Oh, no let’s go! And if the elevator tries to bring you down Go crazy, Punch a higher floor!”

Shatter The Darkness and Ragged Edge radio host Russ Dizdar told a story in 2013 of his encounter with Prince on an elevator to which he attempted to witness to him. Prince turned around and asked him before stepping off the elevator, “Do you know how much money I have?”

“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” – James 4:14-17 KJV

Sprinkled with truth in that without Jesus Christ we are very much on our own when facing death and the the “after world” things are much harder. Whether he is referring to the after world being that of the spirit or the effects of grief from loosing someone is open to interpretation; either way he is correct for those who do not know the Lord. Only in Christ Jesus can we take no thought for tomorrow for such is peace that surpasses understanding. But if you go crazy and party like it’s 1999 to lift your spirits, your time will run out faster than you think, just as a vapor evaporates into the air. How could you handle tomorrow if you can’t handle today? Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.