Close Russell, But You Missed It By A Mile

After the tragic news of the death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman this past week due to an overdose of heroin, actor and comedian Russell Brand made some deeply heartfelt comments where he blames America's tough laws prohibiting drugs for his death. I'm not even going to comment on that aspect of his comment, rather, I want to focus on something he said in the midst of that interview. He was commenting on the nature or make up of an addict. I agree with 98% of what he said, but there is one key thing he said that is so close to the truth, yet he missed it by a mile.

First, here is a quote from Brand in the interview where he describes the addict:

"In spite of his life seeming superficially great, in spite of all the praise and accolades, in spite of all the loving friends and family, there is a predominant voice in the mind of an addict that supersedes all reason and that voice wants you dead. This voice is the unrelenting echo of an unfulfillable void."

That last part is where Brand misses it. He is absolutely correct about there being a void, but he is 100% wrong that it is "unfulfillable." (His word, not mine... so we will use it here.)

He is right. There is a void. That void is in all of us and everyone tries to fill that void with something. Some try drugs or alcohol. Some are obsessive workaholics. Some try sex. Some sports. We could go on and on and the list could be quite exhaustive. The point is that there is a void or a hole in all of us and man tries through various means to fill that void. Russell Brand thinks it is "unfulfillable."  He is wrong. He simply has not discovered that the void in all of us is a spiritual void. Man was created in the image of God and we were created to have fellowship with our creator.  Nothing will ever fill that hole the way it is meant to be filled. We might find relief from the emptiness for a time or season, but nothing but a relationship with God can fill that void in a lasting and meaningful way. This is why so many people go from one broken relationship to another because they are trying to find in another human being what can only be filled by God.  This is why rock stars can self-destruct right before the eyes of their adoring public, because they thought that becoming rich and famous and having millions of fans would fill that empty spot... but the false euphoria of that experience soon grows old and they recognize that the void is still there.  You can say the same thing about athletes, movie stars or any other profession you want to name. It is mans attempt to fill the void with man made things and devices... But that void is not physical, but spiritual. Until man concedes that he does in fact need God, he will remain unfulfilled, because he is lacking the most important part of his life... his reason for being. He is missing relationship with God.

Anyone who has ever been involved in AA or any other 12 Step group can tell you what Steps 2 and 3 are. Without those two important steps being done (and done right!) there will never be any lasting recovery or meaning of life.

Mr. Brand is so close... but oh so far. I pray he makes this all important discovery in his life.

I wrote more about this void, or "God Shaped Hole" in an article I wrote back in September of 2010. Check it out at this link: God Shaped Hole