No one should need to be convinced that Americans worship famous people. To be famous means “to be widely known and honored.” While the world has been weeping over the death of Michael Jackson, the earth beneath our feet and the sky above our heads has been weeping for glory to be given to their maker.

Psalm 19:1 (ESV)  
    The heavens declare the glory of God,
        and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

With a very loud voice, the beauty of the created order calls us to worship God and we worship the created order instead (Romans 1:25). The sadness of this whole Michael Jackson ordeal is the evidence it gives for the futility of idol worship. In crude reality, no matter how devoted we are to men, they die. They leave us wanting. They remind us that any pursuit after the glory of men is a futile one. It is futile because men cannot hold something reserved for God. Men are not meant to be worshipped. God is.

Isaiah 42:8 (ESV) 
    I am the Lord; that is my name;
        my glory I give to no other,
        nor my praise to carved idols.