Is it wrong to want to be famous?

And finally we come to the eighth and last of this blessed list of subjects for meditation: "If (there be) any praise, on these-(things) meditate". I doubt not our first thought should be with regard to the praise of God: "Whose praise is not of men, but of God". When we get the praise of men, then we have our reward. (Matt. 6:1-6). The Greek word used for "reward" is apecho, and expresses the same meaning as our words: "Paid in Full". When the hypocrites did their alms, they sounded a trumpet before them, that they might have glory of men: and thus their reward was "Paid in Full". (Deissmann). We do not want this sort of praise.

These men are called by the Lord hypocrites. It will not be amiss to remember that the Lord calls the religious leaders hypocrites, "Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites." God is not deceived; He does not look on the outward appearance. If their hearts had been right they would not have drawn attention to what they did, for that is what is implied by "sounding a trumpet" before them. It is a fatal thing to seek glory of men. God and the world are always opposed. The Lord says, "I receive not honour from men"; and, "I know you that ye have not the love of God in you." God looks for the single eye; this is the great point here, and the most important one; for it would settle many a difficulty if our one object were to please the Lord. "Wherefore we are ambitious", says the apostle, "that whether present or absent, we may be well pleasing to Him" (or "acceptable," not "accepted"). We are "accepted" in the Beloved, and it is "to the praise of the glory of his grace." There is nothing higher than this; it is the very glory of it. It is altogether of God's grace. Grace — "riches of his grace" — "the glory of his grace" — and this last is the highest. Therefore I labour, "make it my aim," to be well-pleasing to Him Who has showed me this grace. There is no such thing as labouring for salvation; that would be uphill drudgery. But having got it I can labour to please Him. Those who seek glory of men shall get it, but this is not glory of God.

It is very evident on the surface that when the Lord says of the "hypocrites" that "they have their reward," He means that they attain the object they have in view in their religious display before the eyes of men, that they, in a word, succeed in acquiring the praise of others. The following note will explain this very exactly: "'Have' is compounded with a preposition, which gives it the force of having all they have to expect, they have the whole of it already. … It is expressed in English by laying the stress on 'have.' Perhaps one might say 'have got' in the same sense." This is very solemn, because it teaches that if we are tempted to seek the admiration, the honour, or the praise of men, we may be allowed to gain it; but in that case we have nothing more to expect, inasmuch as we cannot then have God's favour and blessing. What the Lord is indeed here enforcing is that, whether in giving alms, in praying, or in fasting, it must all be done in secret before the eye of God, for, if not, none of these things will be of any avail before Him. And to encourage His disciples to this He says, "And thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee."* We need to remind ourselves of this instruction, for what is more frequently seen than the publication of the names of the donors of alms, or even private prayers presented before the eyes of others? How beautiful the words which the Lord uses of prayer! "When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door" (shut out all else, even the nearest and the dearest), "pray to thy Father who is in secret" (for it is in secret that He is to be found and that His presence is to be realized); "and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee." Yea, if His eye alone, His favour alone, be sought, the end desired will be most assuredly realized. It will be readily perceived that all this applies to individual and private prayer; and yet even where two or three are gathered together in the Lord's name to pray, it is necessary to remember that we must address alone the ear of God, that we must pray to Him, and not to those who are present.

As to the desire of James and John to sit on the right hand and on the left of the Lord in His kingdom, He tells them that this was not His to give, but would be given to those for whom it was before prepared. As the lowly Servant of God He had not come to hand out honors to men. In fact, to desire honor is a sure way of not getting it (Cf.Mt.23:12).

There is another class of persons who make fame their object. Ambitious of leaving a great name behind them, they are almost willing to accomplish it at the expense of self-sacrifice. As they become loaded with honours, so they judge their course prosperous; until at length the cold hand of death proves, to their eternal sorrow, that "man being in honour abideth not; he is like the beasts that perish."

The Christian who seeks honour in this world and seeks to be great in it is putting the coronet on his brow before the Lord Jesus is publicly acknowledged in the place of supremacy, as did the Corinthians of old (1 Cor. 4).

The tendency of our natural hearts is always to seek to make a name for ourselves, and the flesh will seize upon anything, even the things of God, to exalt itself. This tendency was seen even among the disciples of the Lord when they had a strife as to which of them should be accounted the greatest.

“Who loves to have the pre-eminence” (3 John 9). In these words we have given to us the character of Diotrephes. There can be no greater condemnation than to describe a Christian in such words. To put this characteristic in plainer language, we should call it the offspring of fleshly lust, for it is certainly not of the Spirit of God. Even in worldly politics, whenever ambition is stronger than patriotism the individual so marked can only bring in confusion and sorrow, and, mark it well, in the end his own destruction. Look at the example of Napoleon the Great. Spite of immense ability, his over-riding ambition in the course of a few brief years bled his empire white, and destroyed himself. Defeated and dethroned, not much beyond middle life, he died in captivity of a loathsome disease on the lonely rock of St. Helena.

But we must not forget there was a brother, whose name we do not know, whose praise in the Gospel was in all the churches. (2 Cor. 8:18). I am sure he did not seek that praise, but he was a man whom the Lord delighted to honour. So while ever seeking first the praise of God, we need not, I judge, be entirely without regard to our brethren's praise also. But let us also remember how easy it is to have our eyes turned towards men, rather than to our Lord alone: and also remember "If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ". (Gal. 1:10).

But we are also called to rejoice in the assured hope of the glory of God even now. It is now that we want its power in our souls. It strengthens us against the false and vain hopes of the world. There are few greater snares than human honour and praise; for they destroy faith. "How can ye believe," said our Lord, "who receive glory one of another, and seek not the glory which is from God alone?" John 5:44. So in John 12:42-43, we are told that, although from among the rulers many believed on Him, yet on account of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory of men rather than the glory of God.