On this day in 1995, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum opened in Cleveland, Ohio.

Having fame means being famous, being known by a lot of people. Some individuals are well-known, not for the good they do, but for their bad actions. We call them infamous. Criminals, terrorists, tyrants, and other terrible characters fall in that category.

Most of the time, when we talk about fame, we mean people who have achieved something significant and good. And in American we have carried this to an extreme. We now have “halls of fame” for rock and roll music, baseball, football, radio broadcasting, Italian Americans, and freshwater fishermen—just to name just a few. And almost every week seems to feature some sort of special awards show. We certainly seem obsessed with fame.

Actually it starts when we’re quite young, and we try hard to be popular in our school, neighborhood, or town. Looking back, we can think of how silly it all seems—why did we think being a big deal in elementary school was so important?

Fame at any level in this world really is no big deal and shouldn’t be so important to us. Instead, we should be concerned with what God thinks of us, not people, and we should be concerned with spreading his fame.

Pharaoh was a big deal in Egypt and in the whole world of his day. But that meant nothing, zero, zilch, zip in the big picture. In fact, God told him (see today’s verse) that he had only been allowed to have power and prestige so that God’s fame would spread.

Here’s the point: whether you’re a big deal or little deal, famous our unknown, popular or not, what matters most is if you are working to spread God’s fame. So what do people know about God from knowing you? Seek heavenly fame.

For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, “I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying my power in you, and so that my fame might spread throughout the earth” (Romans 9:17).

To Do

Think of the Christians who have influenced you the most (parents, other relatives, Sunday-school teachers, pastors). They may not be famous in the world’s eyes, but they’re in your “hall of fame.” Thank God for investing in your life through those other believers.

Also on this day . . .

1964—California officially became the most populated state in America.

1887—The kinetoscope was patented by Thomas Edison. The device was used to produce moving pictures.

1998—Titanic became the first movie in North America to earn more than $600 million.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005).