Do everything with the flair of Jesus
“The duty of a faithful missionary is to concentrate on keeping his soul completely and continually open to the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. The men and women our Lord sends out on His endeavors are ordinary human people, but people who are controlled by their devotion to Him, which has been brought about through the work of the Holy Spirit.” From utmost.org
Ordinary people… these are the ones doing God’s work. People just like you and me.
Embracing obscurity AND building a platform?
I started thinking about this topic as there are two books out that at first glance one may think are contradictory.
- “Embracing Obscurity” was written, appropriately, by “Anonymous”- an excellent book, about selflessly following Jesus. You can check out my review of this one in my recent post, it’s back here.
- “Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World” was written by Michael Hyatt. I guess you could say I have a bit of a man crush on Michael. Huge fan. I read his blog daily, and based my book proposals on his guidance. I haven’t read Platform… Amazon.com says “In Platform, Hyatt will teach readers not only how to extend their influence, but also how to monetize it and build a sustainable career.”
Whether your stage is a soap box, a bandstand or the Olympic Stadium, we all have a “voice” and it’s important that our voice is heard.
So are these two thoughts contradictory?
I don’t think that’s the case. I believe that God is calling us to  utilize our spiritual gifts to do our very best to shine like the brightest star in the night sky. The key to doing this with the flair of God is humility, and knowing that it’s really all about Jesus.
“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 14:11
Do you think we can build a platform and embrace obscurity at the same time?
It’s an interesting balance that’s for sure. Go back to Philippians 2:2-11, I think it’s a good place to start.
That’s an excellent addition Jon. I love the idea of Jesus on the platform and embracing obscurity at the same time. The verses you mentioned resound that perfectly. Thank you for stopping by and sharing here today!
Hi Chris. Interesting thought. Embracing obscurity and building a platform. In my own testimony, I have quoted Tim Tebow from his book “Through My Eyes” in that “people have the ability to influence others, whether through their words, actions, or both.” Now someone like Tim could not be obscure in the middle of the arctic circle, but this is his definition of a platform. I guess how you use it depends on your audience. If you are in a small area and you are able to influence others and no one but those folks know about it then I guess you can be obscure and have a platform. But I think that a persons actions and words influence people everyday in the world they live in for good and for bad whether they realize it or not. So in that way one is not obscure. I guess it just depends on your audience.