A kind of American ambition has infiltrated gospel calling. No longer do we champion 2 Thessalonians 4:11, “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, mind your own business, and work with your hands.” Instead, we demand to live our lives before an audience. New York Times Columnist, David Brooks, contrasts a survey given to 1000 Americans in 1945 asking, “What is your number one goal?” The top three responses were: 1) Serve my country 2) Provide for my family 3) Have a stable job. The same survey was given in 2015. The number one response? Be famous.

And don’t get me started how this gets propagated among some of the popular pastor-personalities. They love to stir up crowds with rhyming slogans about how huge God’s purpose is for every Christian in the room. The implication is subtle—large platforms, leveraging influence, ten bajillion followers on Instagram, and book deals to follow is how you make a difference.

God has made you for something bigger!!  [cue gag reflex] 

What about the middle school janitor who loves his job, is grateful for the provision over his family, and is making significant impact by coaching his son’s t-ball team for the glory of God?  

Obviously, this dummy hasn’t reached his potential!

And how about the homeschool mom who quietly invests in her children to teach them to love God and be a good friend—she clearly doesn’t understand that there are new levels of greatness and purpose for her! Perhaps she should be documenting her homeschool journey via her own YouTube channel, building a brand, exploiting her children, and gathering an audience along the way.  She’ll get it one day.

CHAMPIONING THE 99%

There is something intrinsic in every person that whispers, “You are made for glory.” Don’t get me wrong—that whisper is true. The problem is, we never bother to ask, Whose glory? That is, we are made for glory, just not our own. 

I do believe that God, in his providence, ordains some people to have large and historical impact in the world. That is, there are men and women who have a kind of supernatural aptitude to carry the weight of large organizations and a vision that carries them beyond their own cities. I don’t begrudge these people. Like you, I have been impacted by the likes of many of them. I’ve read their books, listened to their podcasts, and sat in stadiums having the trajectory of my whole life shift because of their words. I am eternally grateful for those 1%. 

Then there are the 99% of us. Those who are called by God and his providence to walk in a kind of inconsequential faithfulness, knowing there is no stage or audience. We have a life in which we make it our ambition not to seek spectators and adoration, but to simply love God with all of our hearts, souls, minds, and strength; to love our neighbors as our self; provide for our families; serve our local churches with vigor; champion the flourishing of our cities; disciple a few along the way. And die with the satisfaction of knowing we chose faithfulness as our highest end. 

Make no mistake, no one knows the 99%. No one will write a book or blog about us. The words of Solomon will testify to our lives. “No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them” (Ecclesiastes 1:11). Faithfulness will get us forgotten. We won’t garner retweets or public praise. No one wants to watch simple plodding in the same good and gospel direction. After all, it feels too small a thing to celebrate. 

Is it possible though, that God isn’t interested in you and me going big with our lives, but rather, driving down deep in the small, insignificant, almost shadowy places of life? I say yes. I say that’s where God does his best work and it’s also where he does his best work in us. I say let’s go small. Let’s create a movement of inconsequential faithfulness and let Jesus get all the credit he deserves. 

Two takeaways for us in this season of 1% living:

1. If God has made you to be a person of influence, platform, or cultural persuasion . . . DO NOT PURSUE IT! That is, if somehow you sense that God does, in fact, have something bigger than local gospel living for you, just wait. Stop pushing to the front of the line. Stop trying to build your brand. Quit trying to be the 1%. If God wants you there, he’ll put you there. 

2. Stop championing the 1% position. Stop retweeting clever and empty rhetoric that only undermines the faithful janitor and loving homeschool mom. Celebrate those who finish well. Praise those who do good things in quiet places. Listen to those for whom Jesus, not culture, celebrate.