The Peril of Fame

Luke 20:3-7 (ESV) He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know where it came from.

Do you want to be popular? Would you like to be famous? A lot of us would. Many of us are driven to be known and recognized as great, talented, beautiful, smart, or powerful. Do a YouTube search for rock bands seeking a recording contract or show up at an American Idol audition, and you will see proof that people want to be famous. Yet, fame comes with a huge price tag. The fickle attention of others that gets one to fame can destroy that position in a heartbeat. Think of all the movie stars who have fallen from grace. Their beautiful pictures once emblazoned the cover of People but now their arrest photos fill the National Enquirer.

The Jewish chief priests of Jesus’ day did not get their positions from media coverage. They were born into them. Yet, even they realized how precarious their power was. Several times in Luke 19-20, they were put in a tough position with Jesus, and each time they were driven to do what they did, not because it was the right thing, but because they “feared the people.” Here, Jesus asks them a simple question in response to their own test. They knew the right answer, but that did not matter when their status in the eyes of the people was at risk. In the end, they looked foolish anyway. The supposedly smartest people in town said, “We don’t know.”

Becoming a slave to public opinion and living for your own fame will often put you in a position of compromise. Instead, do what’s right. Seek to be a person of character rather than a celebrity.