Fame
I’m going to revert to a technique I used in my former life as a high school teacher. I’m going to give you a pop quiz. Unlike the pop quizzes I gave then, this one only has two questions.
1. Who sang the theme song for the 1980 movie Fame?
2. How many members of the cast can you name?
I find it a little interesting if you are having a difficult time with either or both of those questions. That is especially true since these two lines are repeated throughout the song:
I’m gonna live forever.
Baby, remember my name.
Since I never saw the movie, I’m totally unaware of the context of that song. I do think, though, that those words and the fact that most people probably had a great deal of difficulty with my pop quiz point to something important.
If, like me, you have been around for a number of years, try a little experiment with those of a younger generation. Ask them if they recognize the names of people who were instantly recognizable not all that long ago. Don’t be surprised if their expressions reveal that they have no idea who those people were or are. In fact, you might see those same expressions from people of your own age group. People who were once very famous are now almost, if not altogether, forgotten.
Some people become famous (or infamous) almost, if not entirely, by accident. Their fame came because they just happened to be at a particular place and a specific time. Maybe they just happened to be with some particular person. The possibilities are almost endless.
On the other hand, there are those who actively and aggressively seek fame. Some of these people make great sacrifices in that effort. Sometimes those sacrifices are financial. Sometimes they sacrifice whatever morality they once had. Relationships with families and friends have often been sacrificed at the altar of fame. There are those who will take the lives of others in order to “go down in history.” Sadly, some have even taken their own lives because of a desire to be famous.
Maybe it is time to remember that there is One – actually the only One who really matters – who said that He knows his sheep by name (John 10:3). To anybody who is thinking clearly, that should be more important than any “fame” offered by the world.
Those who follow the teachings of the One who said that (Jesus) and are loyal to Him recognize that fame is not the goal. Neither is fame “marketed” as a reward for Christians. Instead, Jesus calls us to be faithful. He is the One who is recorded as saying…
…be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life. (Rev. 2:10, KJV, emphasis added)
If a person could have the confidence that Jesus knows him or her personally and is living a faithful life that will, in fact, result in eternal life, that should be more than enough.
AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
