Fame Found in Ancient Campfire Stories

The Bible is not immuned to the celebrating of famous people.

FUTURE FAME

A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.  Proverbs 22:1

In the earliest Bible times people sought to find recognition by building a good name for themselves.  One's name was one's brand.  One's name was the image one painted for others to see and for others to believe. 

There were two ways to build fame around one's name.  The first was by building up a name for future generations.  Creating stories and passing down one's name to generations to come may not be today's value, but it was in the times of the ancients.

It became a custom in Israel to commemorate one's name through descendants.  So one of the purposes of having sons was to pass down one's name.  In this way a man would continue to be known by many for generations to come.  Sure, it was usually only the family itself that would continue the name, but passing on one's name was important to the culture as it is even today in certain Jewish circles.

The Law of Moses put down in stone that which was already a practice: If a man died before he was able to have a son, his wife would get a child from the next of kin (usually a brother) in order to pass the name of the dead man on to that child.

If you lived in that world, it was important for future generations of the family to remember your name and remember it as something good.

PRESENT FAME

Fame in the present world was found in two ways.  First of all, there was one's reputation.  Reputation may not be much compared to fame as we see it today, but it was important, just as it is to most of us today.

However, the closes thing to modern day fame was something akin to being an actor.  It was to become the center of a story that would become a legend.  Here is how it works... I accomplish some sort of fantastic feat of bravery and tell others about it.  They in turn tell others, and before long, your great feat  becomes so exaggerated that it becomes somewhat of a tall story which people love to pass on to others.

Until TV came on the scene, these types of tall stories were still very popular and were passed on from house to house and from generation to generation.  Famous people were the source of those stories that became legends that were shared around the fire as the night fell.  Around a small fire people told stories of gods and goddesses, heros and villains, hunters and animals, the crafty and fools, and all sorts of amazing tales.  As some of those stories exaggerated the talent and adventures of individuals and cities, real people became famous for doing above human feats.

The actors in those stories in many cases were real people who became the famous as their life accomplishments became bigger and bigger as the stories were passed on from house to house, tent to tent.  Their stories traveled down time as well as their tales passed down for generations.  No one recognized who they were because there was no print or TV.  No one asked for their autographs, but the actors knew that they were the center of popular story telling.  That was the closest thing to what we would call fame.

And that fame became the pursuit of many.  In fact, one group tried to become famous by becoming the center of a story in which men built a tower so amazing that it reached the gods.

THE TOWER OF BABEL

Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11:4

There were several goals of the people in Genesis 11.  The first was to avoid scattering far and wide.  God had previosly told people to fill the earth, but they wanted to avoid scattering  The second goal was to reach the heavens.  In their time they believed that by reaching the heavens they could reach the world where the gods lived.  And if they could do that, they could obtain the final goal which was to become famous - to make a name for themselves.

Their goals were too much against what God had intended, so their plans fell apart due to divisions.

ABRAHAM

The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
"I will make you into a great nation,

and I will bless you;

I will make your name great,

and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,

and whoever curses you I will curse;

and all peoples on earth

will be blessed through you.”

When God called Abraham, He promised him fame and a blessing that included a good life that would influence others in good ways.  It was a good fame in every way that fame can be good.

The people who built the tower were looking for fame and they got fame.  But the kind of fame they received was not the kind they were looking for.  It reminds me of the Colorado couple Richard and Mayumi Heene, who looking for media attention designed a stunt that went terribly wrong.  Hiding their son in the garage, they told authorities that their son may have climbed aboard a large balloon that had lost its moorings and was 7,000 feet airborne.  When the media discovered they had created a hoax to be famous, national attention turned against them and they ended up serving a sentence in prison.  Their's is the worst kind of fame.  In looking for the glory of fame, they found a tragic form of fame, for not all fame is good.  This father and mother were like the people of Babel who sought fame only to find that their is an evil side to fame when plans go wrong.

God gave Abraham the best type of fame.  It was God-given and not self seeking.

LESSONS FOR TODAY

Fame is a double edged sword.  Famous people know this and try very hard to control it.  When one is famous, one's name, one's image, one's brand is in the hands of others - publicists, tabloids, TV, social media, pictures, and so on.  A famous person can only control so much of that image, but to the amount they can control it, they should - not by crazy self-absorbed living, but by wisdom and good living.  One's fame can be a blessing to others who seek to follow and admire; but one's fame can also become a bad example and guide to thousands of young kids who are pretty clueless about life and what is really important.

Even people who have little or no fame (especially parents, teachers and leaders) should keep this in mind as there will be those who look up to them for direction. But famous people should keep this in mind all the more.

Abraham and Babel also tells us that fame is not necessarily bad and that God can and does make some people famous in good ways and for His own purposes.

Fame in the First Century

There were different types of celebrities in the ancient world, just like there are today.  Today actors and musicians are in the top tier of the celebrity world while war heroes are almost non-existent.  Politicians are up there while poets have a very limited following.

In the ancient Roman world politicians and generals were on the top as were philosophers and poets.  This hierarchy of the celebrity world exposes the core values of a society.  The ancients valued cunning in battle, winning victories, and conquering.  They also placed a high value on knowledge and learning among the elite.

When Paul wrote his letters, only a few years after Jesus had been crucified, the people in his churches had their own celebrities that they clamored to.  Some of them had probably had gone to the arena and seen gladiators who held a certain amount of popularity. Some had listened to local or international philosophers and pondered on what they said, admiring their knowledge and intimidated by their celebrity like popularity.

Paul came into their cities and stirred up things, becoming somewhat of a celebrity as well.  His name grew around the regions of the Mediterranean and people went to hear what all the buzz was about.  In short, Paul had become somewhat of a celebrity with a fair share of people who became his followers - some who became avid fans.

But his popularity was constantly under attack intentionally or unintentionally by others.  Peter, John, Apollos were some of those who stepped into Paul's territory without meaning any harm to him or to his ministry.  Following Paul and moving into the same cities in which he ministered, these three and others won the hearts of many of Paul's followers.

Apollos was an amazing speaker that won over the hearts of those who were seduced by image and charisma.  Peter and John gained celebrity status reputation by being the flesh and blood disciples of Jesus who had become the center of the Christian faith. 

Other preachers moved into Paul's territory with intentions of taking Paul's followers away from him.  Most of them believed they were doing service to God.  Among them were Jewish Christians who hoped to instruct the Gentile Christians in the Law of Moses, thus leading them to a "deeper and better" walk with Christ.  Others had secret and special revelations they wanted to pass on the the new Christians in Paul's churches.  Some used their preaching to gain access into villages and homes of Paul's followers so that they could live off other peoples' kindness and generosity.

Every one of these types of people came into Paul's ministry and knowingly or unknowingly set themselves up as his competition. 

Paul dealt with each of these in different ways - some of which is very surprising.