Failure and Success: Quiet Heroes

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.... Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.—Matthew 5:5-8

We have but to become acquainted with, or even listen to, the big names of our times to discover how wretchedly inferior most of them are. Many appear to have arrived at their present eminence by pull, brass, nerve, gall and lucky accident. We turn away from them sick to our stomach and wonder for a discouraged moment if this is the best the human race can produce. But we gain our self-possession again by the simple expedient of recalling some of the plain men we know, who live unheralded and unsung, and who are made of stuff infinitely finer than the hoarse-voiced braggarts who occupy too many of the highest offices in the land. . . .

. . . the church also suffers from this evil notion. Christians have fallen into the habit of accepting the noisiest and most notorious among them as the best and the greatest. They too have learned to equate popularity with excellence, and in open defiance of the Sermon on the Mount they have given their approval not to the meek but to the self-assertive; not to the mourner but to the self-assured; not to the pure in heart who see God but to the publicity hunter who seeks headlines. Man: The Dwelling Place of God, 96-97.

"Lord, I thank You this morning for all the unknown but faithful pastors serving churches in quiet places. We do place a lot of emphasis on the 'personalities' and big-church leaders. Thank You for the 'quiet heroes' and their faithful service; give them great encouragement today. Amen."