Fame – Who needs it?

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said that “fame is proof that people are gullible”. As you look at some of the famous people in Hollywood, politics, professional sports, and the music industry, he could not have more right. Many folks who are idolized in this country are certainly not worthy of the adulation that they receive. I routinely watch the life stories of many famous people on various biography and music channels and often the evening news. It is sad to see how dysfunctional their lives are. The groupies who nearly worship them are oblivious to the dysfunction, and indeed, at times try to emulate it. Excessive drinking, drug use, divorce, hedonistic lifestyles, deviant behavior, suicide attempts, obnoxious, arrogant behavior, etc. are the rule in many famous people’s lives.

I have met many famous people on airplanes. People are constantly coming up to them shaking hands, taking their pictures with them, asking for autographs etc. People are drawn to them like moths to light. I have sat next to several on planes and had long conversations with them about this phenomenon and most seem to resent their adoring public with a controlled rage. They achieved fame but found that it just isn’t what it is cracked up to be. I watched an interview with Eric Clapton, who I am going to see perform tonight, the other day. He said, “I seemingly had it all. I had money, beautiful women, fame, every material possession that anyone could want and still it wasn’t enough.” He turned to alcohol, cocaine, heroin, sex; nothing could satisfy his longing for satisfaction. He very nearly committed suicide until he had a spiritual awakening and turned from his former lifestyle.

Another rock and roll band, the Rolling Stones, came out with the song, “I can’t get no satisfaction”. They “try and try but can’t get no satisfaction”. That is because they are not trying the right way. Fame, money, sex, alcohol, drugs, material possessions and the other lusts of the world will not give us anything near satisfaction. There is only one way to get satisfaction, joy, and peace and that is through a loving relationship with Jesus Christ. I have a sign on my desk that states:

Don’t follow the world – Follow Jesus Christ!

We would all do well to remember this simple, but important message. Just as it tells us in Matthew 16:26, it will not profit us anything to gain the entire world, if we lose our souls.

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1 John 2:17
And the world is passing away,
and the lust of it; but he who does
the will of God abides forever.