Many years ago over breakfast, my daughter told me that when she grows up she wants to be famous. Where did this little girl, still in elementary school, get the idea of becoming famous? When I thought about it, the answer was obvious. Our family had been watching American Idol the night before and we called to vote for our favorite singer.
Our culture has been bombarded with fame. Reality shows and commercials, whether good or bad, have elevated the common man. Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Jordin Sparks from American Idol. Jared from Subway. Rob and Amber from Survivor and Amazing Race. Snooki from Jersey Shore. Fame results in attention, many Twitter followers, pictures with other famous people, and recognition wherever you go.
Even as a young Christian I myself wanted to be famous. I once read Proverbs 22:29, “Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before obscure men.” I thought…that’s going to be me! I will be skilled in what I do and then stand before famous people! Boy, did I take that verse out of context.
Recently I’ve been studying the Sermon on the Mount and the first verse in chapter six has been reverberating in my spirit as I wrote this article, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.” Jesus is telling His disciples not to do acts of righteousness in order to be noticed by others. This will result in pride.
So how should a Christian navigate fame and influence? Here are three things every disciple needs to know:
First, you don’t have to promote yourself.
My wife shared with me a few months ago a person at church wanted to be on the worship team. The first step is to check out what it’s like on rehearsal night. Upon arrival, Sharon began to promote herself to my wife…how she grew up on worship teams, what she did at her last church, her favorite worship songs, and so on. And it didn’t stop with my wife; every person heard Sharon’s story. By the end of the night, my wife was put-off by her.
You never have to promote yourself. Nobody wins by someone who brags. It makes the person look bad and it bores the listener. Recently I heard how a school had to confront a young teacher who liked to talk about herself in class. She was promoting herself hoping the students would like her more. What’s worse is when a person stretches the truth to make him/herself look good. C.S. Lewis once wrote, “It is always the novice who exaggerates.”
When someone promotes himself, he is really showing how insecure he is.
Second, allow God to bring the influence.
Your ability to influence is not something you earn or gain, it is something that is given by the Lord. It is the Lord who determines the type and amount of influence you get to have. Some will have a little influence, some will have a big influence.
There are those who want to have an influence on a great amount of people. So they will offer their services, hoping to get noticed. Years ago, when I was part of a young church, I got a call from a young man who I knew from my youth ministry days. He said anytime our church needed special music to give him a call. And he would contact me every so often, but I was getting a sense that his spirit wasn’t so much to bring people to the presence of the Lord but to have people admire his presence.
The fifth chapter of Hebrews talks about the appointment of high priests. The appointment doesn’t come from man, but from the Lord. Hebrews 5:4 says, “And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was.” When I read that, the Lord spoke to me, “Gary, do not try to manipulate situations so that you can influence more and more people. Your measure of influence will come from Me.”
Your sphere of influence is determined by the Lord, not you.
Third, steward well the influence the Lord gives to you.
Whatever amount of influence you have, steward it well. Don’t have a heart that is dissatisfied with the amount of influence you have and yearn for a bigger influence. God can’t use someone who is envious for more. Why? Because the focus is on more rather than taking care of what one already has.
Back in the 1990’s people would flock to Saddleback Church’s Purpose Driven Church Conference. One of the reasons is because pastors believed one could grow a big church. So they would bring their staff teams to the conference, learn the Purpose Driven principles, bring it back home, implement the principles, and wait for the church to grow. Some did and some didn’t.
I sat back and wondered what happened. Then it hit me. There are some churches that will be big, but there will also be some churches that remain small because the Lord uses all types of churches, big and small. God needs all types of churches to reach all types of people.
The same goes with influence. God will give some a big amount of influence, some a small amount of influence, to reach all types of people. Don’t be envious of another person’s influence, steward well the influence the Lord has given you.
One of the reasons some leaders don’t finish well is because they are chasing after more influence when they aren’t stewarding the influence they already have.
Questions to Think About:
Do you need to confess to the Lord that you’ve been wanting more influence rather than stewarding the influence you already have?
Do a self-evaluation. Do you use Facebook and Twitter to promote yourself?
© Gary Lau 2013
All rights reserved. This article may not be distributed, forwarded or duplicated without prior permission from the author.
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