I just heard that the “world’s most interesting man” is a guy known for recent beer commercials. Must not be a very interesting world. I am blessed to know some very interesting people so I don’t believe the pronouncement. In fact this pronouncement reminds me of a comment from C. S. Lewis in a different setting- when someone says something like this, why would you listen to anything else they say?
Really, this is just a reminder not to live our lives for the recognition of this world. If this is what they praise, why pursue their praise? Our culture has lost its ability to recognize, much less define, greatness. Our culture is blind to true greatness. You would not ask a blind man to tell you if your socks match. You ought not ask the culture to tell you if what you are doing with your life is significant.
They call pigmys giants, and then when told of real giants they refuse to believe they exist.
This is something my pastor mentioned in our recent sermon series on Ecclesiastes. One of the themes of Ecclesiastes is, of course, how all is vanity: no matter what fame you achieve, the world will forget who you were after you are dead. Greatness in the eyes of the world is a passing thing – a hollow achievement. The real question is: who are you in the eyes of the Lord?