On the Edge of Ambition

Ricardo Steven Valenzuela… if you hear the name, you might not even think that he is someone with an incredibly remarkable story, with a brilliance as intense as it was brief.
However, when mentioning Ritchie Valens — the stage name by which he became known worldwide — it's unlikely anyone will fail to recognize that we're talking about the American boy of Mexican origin, famous for the hit "La Bamba".
Born in the Los Angeles area in 1941, he began performing in 1956 at the age of 15, recording other hit songs besides "La Bamba," such as "Come on Let's Go" and the song in which he pays homage to his namesake girlfriend, "Donna.".

But on February 3, 1959, a few months before turning 18, he left—in a hurry so as not to be late for a show that was already scheduled—on a flight along with two other musician friends: Jiles Perry Richardson (The Big Booper) and Charles Hardin Holley (known as “Buddy Holly”).
Due to strong winds and poor visibility resulting from bad weather, the pilot was unable to control the plane, which crashed into a cornfield a few minutes after takeoff, killing all 4 occupants.
Thus ended, tragically, the careers and lives of three promising musicians: Booper, 28; Holly, 22 (whose wife was pregnant and lost the baby due to the shock of receiving the news); and Valens, just 17.
February 3, 1959, is still known in the USA as... THE DAY THAT MUSIC DIED — THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED —, even being mentioned in the famous song "American Pie" by Don McLean.

Although the tragedy is the same for all the families of the victims of that cold and rainy night, from the pilot to the musicians, and even because of the fatal consequence of a miscarriage, Valens' case seems to generate even greater outrage for many people, because he was the youngest and, to this day, the most remembered among those who lost their lives in that tragedy.
Brazilian musician Raul Seixas would say, years later, that if this tragedy hadn't occurred, Rock'n Roll would have had a completely different history than what is known today, such was the potential and influence of the young musicians, especially Valens, who was beginning to emerge and already showed an even greater capacity to influence the genre than his friends.
Many things can be speculated about what would have happened if the tragedy of February 3, 1959, had not occurred, but what no one will certainly disagree with is that, humanly speaking, nothing positive or even just can be seen in that tragedy: three talented young people and the pilot were gone at once, leaving families and friends inconsolable and a history of music very different from the course it has taken since then.

However, even such a painful event can lead a heart touched by the power of God to reflection.
Human beings have their plans and projects, some quite ambitious and others even monumental… and things have to be that way, because without ambition—not the excessive kind, but the natural kind needed to achieve goals and objectives—people cannot have a happy life: simply counting one day after another does not satisfy the need to “give meaning to life” that everyone has.

The fact is that human beings, particularly Christians, can never forget their transient condition, that is, that they are simply mortal and their life does not last forever in this world: even achieving everything they dream of, their achievements will not remain forever…
Solomon, who held the highest position anyone could hold in his time, recognizes this:

Then I focused on the work of building magnificent structures:
I built palaces for myself and planted immense vineyards.
I designed and commissioned the construction of beautiful gardens and orchards, and in them I planted all kinds of fruit trees.
I built large water reservoirs to irrigate my many lush green forests.
I bought countless slaves, both male and female, and many of them were born on my lands.
Besides all these servants, I had more cattle and sheep than all who lived before me in Jerusalem.
I amassed for myself silver and gold, the untold riches of kings and provinces.
I chose the best singers, both male and female, and ate a huge harem, experiencing the greatest pleasures a human being could dream of.
I became more powerful and famous than all the rulers who lived in Jerusalem before me, always staying true to my wisdom.
Of all that my eyes and my body desired, I denied them nothing;
I have never deprived my heart of any joy;
I knew how to enjoy all my work;
This, then, was the reward I received for all the hard work I diligently performed.
However, the moment I began to examine all that my hands had produced and the work that I had so joyfully striven to accomplish, I understood that, in truth, it was all nothing but vanity, a useless and enormous emptiness, like chasing after the wind;
In other words, there is no real value, nothing useful, in anything that is done under the sun.

(Ecclesiastes 2:4-11 – KJA)

But observing this "everything," which he called "vanity," from the original Hebrew, the word is better translated as "soap bubble" or "smoke," that is, something that lasts only a few brief moments and then vanishes.

Many people have achieved and continue to achieve immense glory in their earthly lives, and there is nothing inherently wrong with that. It is necessary that there be in the world both those who lead and those who execute; both managers and workers: each has a gift given by the Holy Spirit and should make the best use of it for their life and to help build the Kingdom of God in the world.1ˢᵗ Corinthians 12).
Problems only arise when earthly projects and ambitions become the center of a Christian's existence, supplanting the importance of things that are unseen and eternal.2ⁿᵈ Corinthians 4:18).
This is because, in addition to being subject to having our earthly lives ended as unexpectedly as those of the talented musicians on February 3, 1959, we may also begin to think that the meaning of our existence is linked to this world and what we accomplish in it.

Many people besides Ritchie Valens and his friends have had their promising lives and careers (and even already successful and solid businesses) ended prematurely, without having had time to realize their other dreams.
Nothing is certain in this world, so clinging excessively, or even recklessly, to earthly dreams is a very big risk, as they may not come true... either due to impossible circumstances or the premature end of earthly life.

We have the example of someone who gave up many things after being enlightened by the Spirit of God to cling to what truly mattered: the Apostle Paul was certainly one of the people who lost the most prestige and privileges in the Jewish world and even in the Greco-Roman world when he embraced the Christian faith.
From a respected authority figure, he became a persecuted outlaw and ended his life as a martyr.2ⁿᵈ Timothy 4:6-7).
However, he never turned back after being converted to Christ; on the contrary, everything he possessed before, he came to consider as refuse, or, as it appears in the original Greek of Philippians 3:8, dung! This is because he, like Moses, already knew before him, that the pleasure of sin is transitory (Hebrews 11:24-27), whereas Christ's reward is eternal, and indescribably greater than anything we can imagine (1ˢᵗ Corinthians 2:9).

Let us pursue our dreams and projects, for they are positive when established in accordance with Christian principles: earthly ambitions and projects are not incompatible with the Christian faith as long as they do not lead a person to be more concerned with them than with their relationship with God, through Jesus Christ.
But let us always remain aware of the transience of our earthly life: the great purpose of our existence lies beyond what is seen, to be achieved in eternity, where that which we never dreamed of obtaining will be given to us by the grace of God in Christ, so that it may never be taken from us.

In the Bonds of Calvary.

Eduardo Pydd Teixeira

ORIGINAL TITLEPerhaps even music will die, but not everything ends in death.

This particular article immediately reminded me of the Brazilian version of this accident, which occurred on March 2, 1996, with the band... Mamonas Assassinas…
Coincidences (or not) aside, it seems that the end times are revealing themselves more and more rapidly, and before the Lord returns like a thief in the night, we can already observe signs of the prophesied reign of the Antichrist consolidating not only in Brazil, but throughout the world!
In the 2023 phase of "The Worst Gospel," I decided to use new formats in the hope of helping to increase the reach of content related to the Scriptures—stories, videos, shorter texts, guest authors…—and this publication, which I took the liberty of revising and illustrating, is part of that project.
Thank you for reading this far.
I still need all the help I can get: comments, shares, and reactions help spread this content, which was entirely produced with the intention of contributing to the edification of the Body of Christ in the world.