A good man has died...

And not who you think.

Does anyone realize that, just within the past week, another man died of pancreatic cancer, the same disease that killed the guy who died yesterday?  I'm speaking of the Nobel Laureate, Dr. Ralph Steinman.  Funny that his story is not told nearly as much as the inventor of the Macintosh computer.  And pretty funny that the primary focus of HIS death was the embarassment given to the Nobel committee who has a policy of never giving the prize to a dead person, almost nothing about WHY he got the prize.

But, instead, this week, we are focusing on Steve Jobs who was a great innovator of technology.  It's almost obscene, at least to me, the amount of accolades given to Steve post-humously.  And all because he has found new and interesting ways to distract and entertain us (think about the general outcry for the iPad, iPod, etc).

I realize that the technology that he helped boost to the forefront helped many people, actually.  I have a friend who's daughter probably would not be able to communicate to the rest of the world were it not for the kind of technology that Steve Jobs helped spawn.

While I respect Steve Jobs for his technical innovations, I have a problem with some of the hype going on with celebrities crawling out of the woodwork to give tearful testimonies of "Steve Jobs changed my life (sniff)" and with all the vigils and such... Yes, he was a pretty big name in the tech industry and a lot that's going on these days can be traced back to his innovations.

Meanwhile, however...

I have a friend who spends every Thursday and Friday in the local prison helping the men in there change their lives from "I'm never going to change, I'll always be a murderer" to "I'm loved and valued for who I am and I am not defined by my mistakes". And those men go on to actually help kids in the 'hood NOT make the same mistakes. How about that for changing people's lives? Or how about the people who are working in the slums, dumps, and cess-pools of the Ruwandan refugee camps helping people live just one more day without feeling hungry or scared... Or how about the men and women in Haiti who are doing nothing more than giving candy to little kids who need some brightness in their days of living in tents... many of them without all four of their limbs... or without parents...

And none of those folks, when they die, will get a lick of media attention. For some reason, this just feels wrong...

I dunno... just all those accolades for things of this world... I can't help but think about Matthew 6:19-20

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Perhaps I'm over thinking this... I'll probably catch flak for saying what I've said... But with all that's wrong with this world, to watch folks mourning about Steve Jobs when there are thousands dying every day in horrible ways...  Just doesn't seem right...