The Message of LeadershipEsimerkki

MARLEY'S CHAINS

"He was born in a humble cottage nine miles from Alexandrea in the parish of St. Ann. He lived in the western section of Kingston as a boy where he joined in the struggle of the ghetto. He learned the message of survival in his boyhood days in Kingston’s west end. But it was his raw talent, unswerving discipline and sheer perseverance that transported him from just another victim of the ghetto to the top ranking superstar in the entertainment industry of the third world."
— Edward Seaga, Jamaican President, May 1981 at Bob Marley’s funeral

"Envy is the art of counting the other fellow's blessings instead of your own."
-Harold Coffin

Bob Marley, the Jamaican-born Reggae singer who died of cancer in 1981 was one of the most interesting men I almost met. I was working in Jamaica and felt inspired to go see this modern urban rebel at his white Kingston mansion surrounded by high walls. At the front gate I encountered one of his ‘associates’ who told me Marley was on tour. So I left him a personal note and a copy of Billy Graham’s book Peace with God. Later I discovered he was actually receiving medical care for the terminal disease which took his life just a few months later.

I don’t know if Bob Marley ever received my gift and read about how to have "Peace With God", but I do know that he was loved by God who pursued him to the very end. I have it on good authority that Bob Marley found Christ at the end just before he died. Jesus can also set you free of the chains that hold you in captivity and keep you from living your life as He intended it. Your faith in Christ is the key to the lock which holds your chains in place.

Bob Marley’s talent and fame caused many to applaud and even envy him. But too soon he had to face death just like you and I will some day. I am confident his earthly chains were gladly exchanged for inner peace and eternal life. Fame and talent are nothing compared to the value of our precious soul. Our chains may seem like good things at the time but they will bind us to death if we let them. Don’t envy what the world has to offer; it is an illusion that will fade away only after it is too late to turn back.

In A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge’s business partner (Jacob Marley) came back from the dead (still wearing his chains) to warn his friend that wealth was not to be envied if it resulted in chains in the life to come. I am sure Bob Marley would send us the same message today if he could.

Essential Insight 24: Envy of worldly success can become a chain of death.