I must admit, and I am a little ashamed of it now, that I had a few chuckles at Charlie Sheen’s expense a little while ago when some of his rants were published. Vatican Assassins, F-18 and such.

I am not laughing anymore because this isn’t funny.

The pictures above (via Drudge) are from a web cam video Charlie did tonight after news of his formal firing aired earlier this evening. This is a man in deep deep trouble and in desperate need of our prayers and help.

There is a really troubling article in the New York Times today about the coterie of enablers that have surrounded Sheen for years and have done nothing to help. They have done nothing for one simple reason. Money. Long-time recovering addict Tom Arnold tells it this way.

“I went to a person close to him and said, ‘This guy is in serious trouble with serious drugs. We’ve got to help him,’ ” Mr. Arnold recalled in an interview. “And this person flat-out told me to my face, ‘We make a lot of money from him. I can’t be part of it.’ That tells you everything you need to know.”

Wow. What an indictment of everything. The culture, the industry, you name it.

This is a man in serious trouble and who is going to die unless someone can help him .

When I made those jokes two weeks ago, I thought it was simply the rant of a man on drugs. That doesn’t excuse it, but I had no idea the trouble he is in. I probably still don’t understand fully now, but I know it’s bad.

A while ago, when Britney Spears was going through something similar, comedian Dennis Miller remarked that he no longer does Britney Spears jokes because he doesn’t want to be the last comedian to joke about her before she dies.

Fortunately Britney did not die and I pray that Charlie Sheen will not either. But I can say one thing, it is no laughing matter.