Fame and Flame

“ The rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. ”

To be well known, to be sought after, to have all men think well of you, to have your name become a household word, to have fans screaming for you when you come on stage, to be a star: is this heaven, or is it just one step before hell?

Paris Hilton is in jail. Now she's out of jail. Now she's back in, and her rage and humiliation are yesterday's news. O. J. Simpson plays golf in Florida, though he can't get another job in show business. Michael Jackson, Phil Spector, Robert Blake: all happy people. Barry Bonds will break Hank Aaron's homerun record this year, but will he be allowed to enjoy it, amid rumors of using steroids? American Idol is a runaway success as young people vie for the honor of being screamed for or screamed off the stage. Fame is the new nobility—and America never had a king except Elvis.

In the 1960s a board game called LIFE was introduced where players decided which goal they were going to aim for: Fame, Fortune or Love , symbolized by stars, diamonds, or hearts. Of all three goals, it impressed me as most hollow for someone only to seek fame. And yet such a heady drug fame is. How easily it's lost. Get what you seek there, and you lose… well, what do you lose?

My father had a very successful career in acting, and yet he never buried his hands and shoes in concrete at Grauman's Chinese Theatre or had a star made for him on a Hollywood sidewalk. But almost 40 years on General Hospital made sure that every waitress in America recognized him in every restaurant for decades. We were once going camping and at an A&W in Lone Pine, a 13 year old boy accosted my father, who was dressed in jeans and camp clothes, all about his drunken wife, accusations of murder and infidelity, all while nearly sticking his teenage finger up my father's nose. His parents just stood by and smiled. The story line of the television show was what the kid meant, but I felt I still should have decked him. Fame can be inconvenient, to say the least.

I was once a volunteer usher for summer shows at Hollywood's Greek Theatre, and Tom Jones, the singer, was coming watch his friend, Englebert Humperdinck, perform. We were told to expect him exiting before the last number toward our direction, and to stop anyone who might follow him. Here he came, at full sprint, followed by a crowd of admiring female fans, and we cut off all but one who ran too close to Jones for us to detain her. The two ran off around the corner, and I wondered just what she would do if she caught him? Tom's a small guy. Might she simply take him home?

Fame is heady wine. I once considered my musical talent worthy of a few screams and a cult following. Maybe we all had fantasies of fame for one thing or another. Jesus was famous, too. And look how that worked out. In Mark's Gospel, before the end of chapter 1, crowds were thronging the place where He was staying, bringing the sick and the demonized while He healed them, one after another, all night long. By the morning, Jesus went off to be alone and just pray. When His disciples found Him, they told Him in confusion: “All men seek you.” His reply? “Let's go somewhere else.”

Jesus taught interesting things about fame. He said, “Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and cast insults at you, and spurn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets… Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for in the same way their fathers used to treat the false prophets.” Luke 6:22-26 Jesus never trusted fame. When crowds thronged Him at the synagogue in Capernaum, He showed them truths that they hated, and caused them all to leave him.

Jesus often turned things on their head. What we have accepted as the way of the world, the way life is, He challenged and taught very differently. It was common to believe that a person was rich, famous and successful because God was blessing him for his goodness. A poor man, despised and rejected, was judged by God. In fact, Jesus lived out both of these roles in His life, fame and rejection, God's blessing and God's judgment, all for us. But fame meant nothing to Him except a headache, being forced by the crowd to live up to their expectations and when He didn't, they immediately turned on Him. He knew this was all fleeting. This world and all its phony light are going to burn. The souls of men are the important matter here, not the vain pomp and glory of the world, with all the covetous desires that attend it. Solomon was right when he called it all vanity, chasing after the wind.

St. Peter wrote of how it will all end. “The present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire,” he wrote. “The day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!” 2 Peter 3:7-12 The end of all evil is a lake of fire. John's vision in his Revelation tells of how, “the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.” Rev. 19:20 “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Rev. 20:10 At the judgment of mankind, the damned are also destined for that lake. It will all burn, and fame will mean nothing at all.

Is it better to be commended of men, or of God? Would it be better to have the world's approval, and be greeted with applause everywhere you go, with flashing cameras and people reviewing your new designer dress, your photos posted on the web seconds later, chat rooms filled with conversation about you, People Magazine calling for yet another feature article while Arpege wants to start a new line of fragrances in your name—or be unknown to all except God.

In Arlington, Virginia a stone tomb is guarded day and night by our military with greater care and honor than any president or general ever was. The inscription on this most honored place of rest reads: “Here Rests In Honored Glory An American Soldier Known But To God” The most famous soldier in our land has no identity, no name at all.

It's all but impossible to do anything worthwhile in this world and not get some kind of notice. Mother Teresa did what she did for the sake of the poorest of the poor. She didn't care a fig about her own reputation, except that if she was famous, it brought attention to her cause. No one suggested a line of fragrances bearing her name, nor did Gucci come out with its version of her famous sari habit. I'm not sure she ever tried on lipstick in her life. Her life, famous though she may have been, showed her complete distain for personal glory. It meant nothing to her, and that became the most impressive thing about her to many people who came to her, came to learn what it was about her life, what made Teresa tick.

The story of poor Lazarus and the rich man is a classic Middle East morality story of how things are in God's eyes. The rich man with his wealth and fame couldn't buy a drop of water to cool his tongue as he was tortured in his flames. He wanted Lazarus to give to him what he never gave Lazarus in his life. But what else did Lazarus have beside the comfort of Abraham's bosom and the approval of God? Look: Lazarus had a name. What was the name of the rich man in Christ's parable? In the end, he had no name. His fame was gone. But God recognized the name and the value of the beggar, and gave him eternal comfort and rest. Lazarus is known by God, the rich man nameless forever. Fame and flame often go together, and have the same end.

Fame, fortune or love? Life is not a game and yet you still must choose what is important to you and what you are seeking in it. St. John would encourage you to prefer love , but not like the tabloids display the love triangles of the famous, romances gone bad, broken hearts and broken vows, broken homes and broken dreams, all while the paparazzi are flashing away. The love of God and of God's own constitutes the greatest treasure one can have, and the most lasting fame one may seek in seeing the recognition in your beloved's eyes. I'm famous with my grandkids. They call me Baba, and their eyes light up when, after long months away, we get together again. Let me be famous to these four kids, and I'm a happy man. And not for the fame's sake, but for the love. That's better than all the money and fame in the world. And it won't burn.

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God… In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him… Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another… If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us… And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:7-19

At the end of any day, to look into the eyes of your beloved and find there complete acceptance for who you are and what you've done, even if no one in the entire world saw it or appreciated it: that's all you need. And at the end of time, to look into the eyes of Him who saved you by dying your death for you, and to find there acceptance for your faith in His achievement, and for your life that proved out how you had accepted that great gift, even if no one on earth had ever noticed or expressed appreciation for your faith and sacrifice, even if all men hated your name: the love in those eyes will be worth it all, it's all you need. Fame and flame were meant for one another. Chose love, for life is not a board game. Not a game at all. You're playing for keeps.

PFH+