The Clamor of the Crowd
by Ken Barnes

Later Simon and the others went out to find him. They said, “Everyone is asking for you.” (Mark 1:36 NLT)

Jesus is becoming a star. His disciples find him spending time with his Father and tell him that everybody is clamoring for him. His response; The Lord packs his bags and moves to a different location. Jesus is not motivated by what sways the world.

Fame can be a very intoxicating thing. For a Christian, success is much harder to deal with than failure. Success, if not put in perspective, through pride can lead to self-sufficiency and self-righteousness. Failure, on the other hand, can have a purifying effect on motives. It tends to take the scales off of our eyes and reveal to us why we do what we do. The unrestrained pursuit of success is like a quest that has no end. Achievement for the sake of achievement puts us on a treadmill in life that is unsustainable. The more we get, the more we have to have. It becomes a lust rather than love. Of course, we all want to be successful in life, but if it is more important to us than pleasing God, we have a false god in our lives. False gods always disappoint those who worship them.

Jesus was never motivated by the applause of man, or just by the needs of people, but by the will of his Father. This was to be the key to his success. Jesus kept the glimmer in his eye for approval from his heavenly Father more prominent than a glance from man. It’s all a matter of priority. Do we seek recognition from our heavenly Father, more than the clamor of the crowd? It is simple, but not always easy to do.

 



I worked for seventeen years as a missionary with Youth With A Mission.  My missionary work has taken me to Mexico, Canada, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Spain, and Ukraine.  I hold a Masters of Education in curriculum and instruction from Virginia Commonwealth University.  [email protected]

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