Made for Fame

“I won’t be happy until I am famous like God.” These words were uttered not by some obscure person just starting off on a career in search of notoriety. They were declared by the mega-superstar Madonna, well after she had achieved worldwide celebrity. She was quite possibly the most famous woman on the planet, and yet it was not enough.

“Fame doesn’t end loneliness.” Once again, these are the words of a star—actress Claire Danes. She had achieved her goal—fame—but it was not enough.

The people who have fame tell us it does not satisfy. So why do we still pursue it? My answer may surprise you. Are you ready? I believe we are drawn to fame and pursue fame because we were made for fame. We have this universal pull toward fame because our Creator hardwired the desire into us. He designed us as vessels capable of gathering, possessing, and transporting fame. We are drawn to fame because we were made for fame.

But we have confused the fame for which we were made with the one we know—the one that surrounds us. Isaiah 43:21 reminds us that God formed us for His purposes—primarily that of proclaiming His praise. The prophet Habakkuk, when confronted with looming judgment and a call from God to be the vessel of His mighty power, declared, “Lord, I have heard of your fame, I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.” (Habakkuk 3:2).

In other words, “Do it again, God!”

You and I were made for fame. His fame. It is time to aim the influence of our lives in the direction of His glory.