There’s no end to the amount of good a person can do, if they don’t care who gets the credit for it.   I presume the person who said that doesn’t mind that I don’t remember who he or she was.  I aspire to be a person such as this sentence describes.  Or do I?  There is a tenacious longing within me to get the credit, without the cost of actually doing anything difficult or risky.

Someone has finally written a book about my ailment.  Here is the way he introduces the book:

“What do you, me, a student, a musician, a stay-at-home mom, a laid-off blue-collar worker, a pastor, and a successful entrepreneur all have in common?

“We’re drunk.

“In our defense the epidemic is so common that most of us don’t even know we’re under the influence.  We’re confused, blinded, and wandering around like sailors at dawn; but, then again, so is everyone else, so why should we be alarmed?  But this unsuspected poison is simultaneously numbing us, diverting our attention from the kingdom and undermining the gospel of Christ.

“We’re drunk all right.  We’re intoxicated with a desire to be known, recognized, appreciated, and respected.  We crave to be a ‘somebody’ and do notable things, to achieve our dreams and gain the admiration of others.   To be something – anything – rather than nothing.”

The writer does not equate obscurity with mediocrity.   The book is well-written, on target, and quite merciless in pointing our how we have become polluted with pride.

Our purpose on earth is to make God’s name great, advance His kingdom, and serve others.  None of that requires that we become rich and famous or exalt ourselves above others in any way.

This is a book to read over a couple of times to fully absorb its impact.  then it should move us to abandon the pride that hinders us from being effective in working for the advancement of the kingdom of God.

Embracing Obscurity – becoming nothing in light of God’s everything, copyright 2012 by Anonymous, published by  B&H Publishing Group, Nashville, Tennessee.  ISBN 978-1-4336-7781-6