I had some time, so I made a list of famous people I’ve met. When I say “met,” I am using the term loosely. These are celebrities I saw unexpectedly. Some of them I shook hands with and talked to. I had a couple autographs but don’t know where they are now. I had a brush with Hubert Humphrey, Don Majkowski, Dennis Farina, Robin Yount, Walter Cronkite, Muhammad Ali, Stan Musial, Mickey Mouse, and Ronald McDonald. I thought about including Pastor Jeske and my town chairman, Terry, but I had to draw the line somewhere.

You may not know some of these people. Their celebrity has faded. Napoleon Bonaparte said, “Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.” He added that he preferred obscurity. He would know. He was sent into exile twice because he became a little too famous in Europe for his own good.

Not long into human history people developed reputations (see Genesis 4). Some early people became known for the good work they did because they started doing something positive others could emulate. Other people became known for immoral behavior. Lamech killed a man and a boy and made up a song about it. He wanted to be even more notorious than Cain.  

Some people say that any publicity is good publicity. I don’t think so. Wouldn’t you rather fade into obscurity than be remembered for doing the wrong thing? 

“All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall” (1 Peter 1:24).