I am reminded of the film “dumb and dumber” when Jim Carey asked the lady what his chances were of her going out with him – she replied “one in a million” and his immediate response was “good, then I have a chance” 😊
0.008600% people that became famous based on 7.8 billion population
0.000333% people that are struck by lightening
0.000001% people that win the lottery on a single ticket
Although statistics show the odds of being famous are a little better that being struck by lightning or winning the lottery, the odds are not all that encouraging. Fame is a fickle thing. It comes to many who do not seek it and is an unwelcome guest. It avoids many who do seek it leaving them in vain pursuit. When it is found by those who seek it is unsatisfactory and often destructive. After being destructive for period it often abandons them, leaving them in a worse state than they were before it arrived.
And the oddest thing about fame is that the people who manage it best are those who act is if they don’t have it.
Fame creates a riddle that is unsolvable. When one doesn’t have any he wants some, but as soon as he has some he needs more. Once more is found he wants none, but neither can he bear the thought of giving up what he has.
It all makes one wonder why anyone would seek fame? And yet we do. The desire to be famous seems to be in the DNA of most people. And if they can’t be famous they want to know famous. That’s why People Magazine and E! TV are so popular (it’s certainly not because of the creative and artistic value). We brag about seeing actress X at the airport or athlete Y at the grocery store. It’s as if the knowledge of fame or proximity to it rubs a little magic fairy famous dust off onto us so we can feel famous for a moment.
But what is about Fame that so captivates and nearly stupefies society? Once upon a time it was because of what athletes, actors, musicians, politicians, or authors accomplished, their actions. But now? The aim isn’t to do what they do. Fame is the goal itself. If you need proof just take a good look at so called “reality TV stars.”
People want fame because people want to matter even what makes them famous matters nothing at all. The thought goes like this: “If someone knows who I am I gain significance, so the more people that know me the more significant I am.”
Even Christians fall into this trap, and in Christianity the fame bug bites with an even weirder kind of venom. People seek fame through doing good, preaching, writing, giving, serving. But when the fame becomes the motive and not the good that points to God, we know our Christianity is upside down.
Fame, at its best, is a bi-product of doing things that truly matter. It is something that is received, not sought after.