We desire to be more than we are in life. We pretend to be more than little children playing a game. Matthew 11:16-17
At times we all act like kids in a popularity contest. No matter how many decades removed from school we know it is still true. Part of us desires to be the popular kid. Our culture doesn’t help. In our age we have created and are creating a vast virtual world built on popularity. Media tools are being created to connect us to one another and make us more popular. New virtual communities are marketed to meet certain felt needs and desires. Even Christians have begun to breed a new level of Christian micro celebrities. These Christians work around the clock to brand their image as either the cultural cool, doctrinally correct, humorous, deep, edgy, relational or whatever adjective you can think of type of Christian. They become the popular kids that everyone tries to emulate.
These believers perfect brand images to better control their message and public persona. They become the brand. Many of us remember Tammy Faye Baker Messner. Her makeup and prosperity gospel branded her public image as a health and wealth prosperity gospel advocate. In later life much of her fortune dissipated as she battled cancer unsuccessfully. Attempting to rebuild her brand image she wrote a book and appeared on the Surreal Life. Tammy was like a lot of us. She professed a love for Jesus but she couldn’t figure out how to put him first. Some of her last public words were on Larry King Live. She said “I’d like to say that I genuinely love you, and I genuinely care, and I genuinely want to see you in heaven someday. I want you to find peace. I want you to find joy.” The problem wasn’t her genuineness, the problem was her focus. Tammy forgot that Jesus is to be the focal point and solution for lasting Joy but the foundation of our identity. Tammy like many of us lost sight of his glory in place of our own.
In divine humble irony Jesus was always about the glory of others. His first focus was to glorify the Father. His second was to glorify God in us.
The advent of Jesus shows us that he allowed others to brand and identify him and get the glory. Mary was magnified. John the Baptist was more popular. He was the carpenter’s son. He was born in a cribless manger. He had a common name. He lived humbly.
He was called Rabbi and Lord but never introduce himself with those titles. Every miracle he accomplished was done by the power of the Holy Spirit. Ever word that he spoke was under the authority of God. He most often humbly referred to himself with the phrase “I am he.”
What we must learn from Christ advent is to stop playing popularity contest. If we don’t we will always be focusing on ourselves. Focus on Jesus brand only.