Famously Favored, or Just Famous?

Spirituality Column #224
February 22, 2011
Current in Carmel - Current in Westfield - Current in Noblesville – Current in Fishers
(Indianapolis north suburban home newspapers)

Famously Favored, or Just Famous?
By Bob Walters

Thoughtful author and music reviewer Neil Strauss recently described a common theme he hears when interviewing the hyper-famous and highly talented.

Those occupying the top echelons of their craft and celebrity, whether a musical artist, movie star or pro athlete, typically express profound belief that his or her place and purpose are determined by God, or a higher power … or something.

Strauss also noted that those less inclined to identify a Godly sense of purpose as the source of their talent and position, have lesser career trajectories. Exceptions notwithstanding, believing that God wants you to be famous actually improves your chances of being famous.

Strauss wrote, “…from the standpoint of traditional theology, even in the Calvinistic world of predestination, God is much more concerned with the fate of an individual's soul than his or her secular success … So what's helping these stars is not so much religion as belief – specifically, the belief that God favors their own personal, temporal success over that of almost everyone else.”

The Super Bowl, Grammys and Oscars – events glorifying people, not God – all happen this month. Each is replete with exactly the folks about whom Strauss writes, prone to either thank a God they barely know, or to cite generic “belief” for success.

At issue is whether God’s purpose is to fulfill their human glory.

Purpose and belief and faith obviously are not all identical concepts, but they share the similarity of driving and undergirding our confidence in our ability to perform. “There is a higher power that wants me to succeed” sounds much more compelling – to others as well as to us – than simply, “I want to succeed.”

While it’s ill-advised to pick apart the sincerity of any person’s faith, it is nonetheless interesting to compare, say, Eminem’s expression of purpose, “God sent me to [make people mad],” which he rapped on his first hit record, juxtaposed with the Jesus-believing, ego-bridling humility of the average Christian.

All people – celebrities too – experience a mix of earthly successes and failures. The Christian walk teaches that God is not keeping track of what we or other people say, think or believe about ourselves. God’s Book of Life keeps track of what we say, think and believe about Jesus Christ.

Misplaced glory, you see, is misplaced faith. Earthly applause fades.

The lesson for all is this: The glory is always God’s, never ours.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) respects NASCAR’s Daytona 500 because unlike these other February mega-events, “The Great American Race” begins with a sincere, public, God-honoring prayer.