Bizarre News: R&B Singer Houston Puts Out His Own Eye

A manic-depressive and PCP-using R&B singer tried to kill himself by jumping from a hotel window. When he was stopped, he gouged out his own eye! According to VH1.com:

On Thursday Houston attempted to jump out of a 13th-floor hotel window but was stopped by his security personnel, sources close to the singer said. He was moved to a lower floor and locked in his room, where he injured himself. Additional details are still coming to light, and photographs of his injury are circulating online.

Los Angeles radio station KKBT-FM’s K-Sly, who appeared in the “I Like That” video and is close to Houston’s camp, said the singer had been under psychiatric care last year for manic depression. Another source corroborated that claim, adding that Houston had also struggled with PCP.

“I was told he wanted to commit suicide and stabbed his eye out,” K-Sly said. “He was telling people he was Jesus and wanted to go home to his Father.”

When I saw the headline on the Drudge Report, I thought it was about Whitney Houston. When I saw that it was some other show-biz type, my first reaction was a knee-jerk, what-is-wrong-with-people dismissal. After some reflection, I decided to not dismiss it but to ponder and pray on it. There, but for the grace of God, go I…

Houston is lost and in need of healing, not simply from his depression and drug addiction. He needs to be healed of in sickness, as we all do. Only Christ can do that, this seeker of lost souls:

Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”

Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”

And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19: 1-10)

Update: I want to comment on the verse I referenced. I realize I left it hanging there, and some may not understand its significance.

The only thing we know about this man Zacchaeus is that he was a tax collector, a reviled profession in that culture at that time (Some say it’s reviled in this one, too.), and probably a Jew by birth only. During His three-year ministry, Jesus passed through Jericho, a city that God had delivered to the Israelites after he freed them from Egypt.

Out of curiosity, Zacchaeus sought out Jesus, who’d performed miracles and healed the sick and fed the hungry. Jesus, foreknowing that Zacchaeus would be there at that very time for His own purpose, called out to him and invited Himself to his house. Zacchaeus was ecstatic. The other Jews, mostly likely Pharisees, with their pure bodies and soiled hearts, considered themselves more righteous than other men, and they were shocked that One claiming to be the Son of God would consort with a sinner and heathen like Zacchaeus. And Zacchaeus apparently agreed because he offered to make amends, to pay for his sins with works.

Zacchaeus didn’t really know what he was seeking, but he received more than he ever imagined: salvation. Zacchaeus was lost; that is, unsaved, an unbeliever. By God’s grace, and not his money, Zacchaeus’s sins were forgiven.

When I meet new people or read about those I don’t know, I don’t assume they are followers of Christ. Unless I see evidence or “fruit,” I assume they aren’t. As a Christian who believes Houston may not be saved, I will intervene on his behalf and pray for his salvation. If he’s a believer, I’ll still pray and have faith that the work God began in him will be completed according to His will, as He promises us.

For more information, see The Gospel Message.

Update [Tuesday, February 8]: In the past couple of days, many of you have found this site through searches for information about Houston. While I certainly appreciate the comments you’ve left, I don’t think Houston reads this blog. If he did, I’m sure he’d be touched.