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Daily Recharge
Mal Fletcher
You Don't Have To Be Famous
19 April 2024
1 Samuel 16:7 'But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."' (NIV)
As long as human beings have appreciated talent and ability we've had celebrities. Shakespeare, Mozart and Da Vinci were all celebrities of a kind in their day. In the past, celebrities were people we celebrated because of some great achievement or some admirable quality. Today, however, celebrity has taken on a new meaning. Celebrity are often little more than people who are well-known for being well-known. Many people are famous just because someone has found the right image for them. Whenever you think of that image, you think of that person and vice versa. A whole industry has grown up around trying to turn people into celebrities. Today, we have TV programs where young people will jump through all kinds of hoops in the hope of becoming a celebrity. In one survey young adults were asked, 'What would you most like to achieve in your life?' The most common answer was: 'I would like to be famous.' We should think again about where our culture of celebrity is leading us. Celebrity is built on novelty. Celebrities often come to prominence because they do something in a new way. Often, when their star begins to fade, they turn to shock value to rescue them from obscurity. But what one generation tolerates the next generation may treat as mundane or routine. When something loses its shock value, something more shocking has to be put in its place. The fact is, you don't need to have an image to exercise influence and you don't have to be famous to make God famous! In an age that is impressed with artiface, God is still impressed with the heart -- he promotes the real, not the fake.
Prayer: 'Lord, please help me not to seek after fame or celebrity status. Help me to please you first, above all else. And to use whatever favour I have with other people to make your name great.'
© Mal Fletcher 2003-2004
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