The most popular player on a football team among the fans is the backup quarterback.
That’s the general rule for most teams unless you have a superstar quarterback. Whenever the starting quarterback isn’t doing well, the fans are always calling for the coach to put in the backup.
And even being a superstar is not always protection for your position.
Take Peyton Manning. He was not only the face of his franchise, the Indianapolis Colts, but he was also one of the major faces of the National Football League for the past 13 or 14 years.
But one major surgery later, and his team let him go.
The ironic thing is that when he changed teams, he took over for another quarterback who just skyrocketed in popularity across the nation last year, Tim Tebow.
Tebow quickly became a fan favorite and a national phenomenon despite his obvious problems passing the ball. But somehow, his team managed to win behind him.
Yet when Manning became available, it was “Bye-bye Tebow. Hello, Manning!”
All of this goes to prove one thing: Popularity and your position in life is a fleeting thing.
It doesn’t matter how popular you are, or how high up in a company you may go, it’s not going to last. And that’s what Solomon points out in this passage here.
First, he talks about the king who loses his position because he becomes so proud of who he is, and what he’s done, that he can no longer take advice. As a result, he makes such foolish decisions that there is a coup, and he is eventually overthrown by another.
His successor, a poor man who came out of prison to become king, then found great popularity among the crowds. But his popularity too, slipped away.
Are becoming popular and rising up in status then bad things? No. Jesus did both. He rose up in status among the people, and also in popularity.
But Jesus himself knew that these things were fleeting. That people were extremely fickle. When he performed many miracles among the people, his popularity shot way up.
But John writes about Jesus,
But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. (John 2:24-25)
Jesus was right to be skeptical of the people’s love and devotion. One moment the people were proclaiming him as king. The next they were calling for his crucifixion.
And so instead of focusing on his status or popularity, he focused on pleasing his Father in heaven. Because he knew that was where true joy and fulfillment were found.
Not in pleasing people. Not in gaining their love and respect. But in having his Father look at him and say,
This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (Matthew 3:17)
How about you? Is your main goal in life to rise in popularity? To rise up in status in your workplace or among the people you live?
These things are fleeting. They won’t last. And if we seek them, we’ll miss out on the things that are most important in life. Namely, the approval of the One who matters more than anyone else.
May our goal in life not be status or popularity, but the words of the Father saying to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You are my beloved son. You are my beloved daughter. And I am well pleased with you.”
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 