Dear, Chris Lunsford

Dear,
Chris Lunsford

	You spoke everything I've wanted to. Your song was good, but your response, and rejecting 8 Million dollars is big to me. That gives me hope. We do need to get rid of our idolatry. The internet is like a parasite.
	Why did Rich Men North of Richmond become so incendiary? Therein lies the problem with our culture. There is no politics in your song. You lived through what I've seen. People struggling at Warehouses, making bare subsistence salaries.
	You didn't sell out, and neither will I. A simple audience for what I sell--as I'm not capable of doing what you do for a living, I'm too soft--is what I need. Don't take the money. It's a trap. But, seeing it divide, it gives me a prescient thought about how people are going to react when my writing becomes famous. I don't want fame like you have... I can already see the effect it has on you. Making you divisive, when you wrote a simple song, like Hank Williams Jr. or Johnny Cash. Now, even the Folk Tune is politically divisive, and I'm not sure I want that surrounding my work, either. As it's sure to be misunderstood. Subtlety is lost on this generation.
	Do I like your song? I have to admit it's decent. Does it capture my sentiment? Not as much as your response did, where you said we have to get back to God, and forsake our idolatry. I love you, Chris. You're my hero for the moment. Not for the song you wrote, but for your immaculate humility. I wish I had that humility. I don't know if I would reject an 8 Million Dollar Book Deal, either. Maybe I would if it meant corrupting the message I'm proclaiming.
	You have a friend in me, if you preserve on this path, Chris. But, if your situation improves because of your song, just remember Paul was a shepherd who earned his wages. Like me, you probably want a humble wage. You're satisfied. I don't want your fame. I don't want your fortune. But I do want you to know, I understand you. That kind of success damages the soul, and I know it from having seen it in others. Handle celebrity with grace, Chris. It's the one thing holding me back, is the knowledge of the corruptive powers of Fame and Fortune.
	God bless!