Steuart Smith - the Relentless Pursuit of Anonymity

 

 

Who is this Man?

Last week I went to see one of my favourite bands - The Eagles - on their very last concert tour, The Long Goodbye. 

Parked on the right hand side of the stage (I say parked because he did not move around very much) and dressed in dark attire was an awesome guitarist by the name of Steuart Smith. 

Steuart who?

Exactly. 

Unlike his extrovert counterpart, Joe Walsh, who was dressed flamboyantly,  Smith is restrained, conservative, but immensely gifted with technical brilliance. (He begins the lead break in Hotel California, for those in the know.)

As you do, I googled Smith and discovered that though he has played with the Eagles for two decades he has never become "an Eagle." There have been calls to make him an Eagle but he doesn't want to become one.

Weird. 

Why not?

The Relentless pursuit of Anonymity

Reading further on the web (and relying on more than one source in that dodgy world) I discover that Smith wants to stay in the shadows and eschew the trappings, or should I say, the madness of, fame.

He has few fans and "just wants to do the work, free of the fame that usually attaches." 

There is something very attractive about this pursuit of obscurity. 

 What is fame?

In our topsy-turvy world, almost nothing is prized more than "fame:" the desire for lots of people to know about you, your talents, your qualifications, your gifts.

The desire for fame, we should start positively, arises out of the fact that made in the image of God we know, deep down, that we are unique and noble creatures.

But this knowledge has now been polluted and twisted.

Human fame can be an attempt to usurp God's place. For he alone is worthy of being known across space and time. 

Fame may sometimes arise out of a twisted lack of self-confidence that seeks human approval.

Fame may arise out of naked greed - for with fame often comes wealth.

Fame may arise out of selfish ambition - we want to "get ahead" and climb whatever ladders are before us, whether secular or ecclesiastical. 

Fame may arise out of pride - we want to be known above others.

Fame and the Christian

Fame in the Christian might be justified by some in two ways: "I want the Gospel to be known" or "I want truth to be known rather than error." But since fame always involves (almost always involves) a single individual, these two justifications always result, in effect, in the exaltation of a single man or woman.

And so we must say that fame, a modern form of idolatry, or self-idolatry, is always a sinful pursuit for a believer... 

...because only God is worthy of glory

...because we have nothing to boast about since all we have comes from God

...because the greatest New Testament saints were hated and despised in their day, not loved and adored. Think of the team of dogged enemies that followed the great apostle Paul around, rubbishing both him and his message

... because no human can handle the effects of fame (no-one [= no-one])

... because fame twists every human being in a myriad of ways

... because we should not be interested in what men say, only in what the Lord thinks

...because we might end up dishonouring Christ should we fall, like the conveyer belt of ongoing big-shot preachers are doing

... because people may turn us into all-singing, all-answering Christian gurus who they perceive have the answers to every question (which we couldn't possibly have)

...because inevitably we will end up compromising the truth to keep numbers high. (I have heard mega-church insiders say how the staff are told to keep all controversial subjects out of the big show. The worship of numbers and the love of truth are mutually exclusive).

How to pursue the grace of Anonymity

There are many ways to do a 'Steuart Smith' in the kingdom of God.

First, we must remember that what men think of us is irrelevant in the eternal scheme of things. What really (and only) matters is what God thinks of us now and what he will one day say at the judgement seat. This applies both negatively  and positively.

Second, to orient our worldview away from fame, we ought to avoid judging any one / any movement / any church by numbers. Developing a healthy number scepticism will prevent number-puja from infecting our souls.

Third, reject calls to be "a friend" on Facebook from people who are total strangers to us. Having a thousand friends is just an illusion.

Fourth, do not place a "follow" or "subscribe" button on your blog so that you can't gain followers. (I put an end to future subscribers on this blog when it reached 9, 2011)

Fifth, actively pursue low numbers. For example, try to spread out views / hits across multiple platforms so that any one of the platforms on its own appears a small number. So, for example, if you stream your Sunday church services, do it across two platforms rather than on one which the others point to and thereby increase its value. In this scenario each number will seem smaller.

Sixthly, and above all, remember that we serve before an Audience of One who will one day be our gracious Judge.

So we should work towards pleasing Him, not men.  

As well as there being a modern sin of popularity-lust, we need to rejoice in the modern grace of earthly anonymity.