One of the ways those who set upon a path towards holiness, engaging all kinds of spiritual disciplines in order to attune themselves to God and God’s holiness, can be taken off that path is if they let themselves be seduced by the fame which often accompanies those who attain some degree of extraordinary spiritual attainment. Even if they do not seek fame for themselves, they might look for those who are famous and attach themselves to them, thinking that if they do so, some good would come out of it. In either instance, fame changes them, as they lose sight of their original goal as they let fame take over and dictate what they shall do. While there can be and are good people who became famous, people who do not lose themselves due to such fame, it is very difficult.
The best people, the noblest, and most worth of accolades, are the ones who are least likely to be known by the public, because they don’t seek out fame, indeed, many of them flee from it if it ever crosses their path. Others, who still might be virtuous and worthy of praise, might be known by others, but they realize what fame has done to them, and so they will recognize many others as being their superiors. This is why Abba Carion pointed to Abba Zachariah, indicating that no matter what he [Abba Carion] had done to attain fame, it was nothing in comparison to the simple life lived by Zachariah:
Abba Carion said, “I have performed many more physical tasks than my son Zachariah, but I have not attained to his stature in humility and silence.”[1]
Many spiritual masters point out it is better for us if we became, not famous, but infamous, not by embracing sin, but by pursuing and living out those virtues which challenge society. For then, they suggest, we will find ourselves insulted, and if we can continue to pursue the greater good in the midst of such insults, we find ourselves much less manipulated by the fickle responses of others. The point, of course, is not to seek to be insulted and treated poorly, not to be a masochist, but rather, to find a way not to let them affect us. For, if we can deal with insults, we learn how to deal with accolades as well, and not be affected by either, while those who have not learned such can easily fall into pride or vainglory if they receive praise for something they have done. Thus, many spiritual masters tell us, to check to see if we have overcome pride or vainglory, we observe our reaction to those who insult us; if we are overly defensive, we know we have a far way to go before they no longer pose a risk for our spiritual health, but if we can shrug them off and treat them as nothing, we are attaining the kind of character we need for our salvation:
A brother asked an elder, “Tell me one activity so I can maintain it, and through it, pursue all the virtues.” The elder said to him, “He can be saved who tolerates being held of no account, insulted, and punished.”[2]
Various saints suggest we should look to the way a corpse reacts to praises or insults and imitate it: that is, we should do nothing. After all, we will soon be dead. Of course, this is not to say those who praise us, if we do good, are wrong to do so – the more we look to others and praise them for the good they have done, the more will we get to know them and find ourselves drawn closer to them; the issue is not that we should not praise anyone, but rather, we should not let praise get the best of us, letting it change us for the worse. It feels good to be recognized by others, and once we have experienced that good feeling, we can become addicted to it; if that happens, we will do whatever it takes to get it again, which means, we will end up doing what people want of us, whether or not it is proper for us to do so. This is how vainglory works; it is all about having us pursue some ephemeral human glory, seeking it instead of the transcendent, eternal glory which we are called to participate in. What we enjoy will not last, and when it is gone, we will experience all kinds of angst, while, if we pursued the greater glory of God, we would find it will last for eternity, and so we can be happy and satisfied with it forever. For this reason, Abba Isaiah said we should root out all attachments to human glory by embracing humility:
Abba Isaiah said, “Loving human glory brings forth falsehood, but to root it out in humility increases the fear of God in the heart; so do not seek to be friends with the celebrities of the world lest the edge of God’s glory be blunted in you.”[3]
Sadly, it seems, many religious and spiritual leaders do not heed this wisdom, as many of them seek to be with celebrities, to be affirmed by them and upheld by them, thinking their association with celebrities will help them become famous as well; they might have a good intention for what they do, that is, they might think if they shared in such fame, they would be able to share what they have learned and experienced with others, but in reality, they will find themselves becoming more and more conformed by those they associate with than the wisdom and guidance of God. This is why what such religious leaders offer tends to be far inferior to, and often contradictory to, that which they could have offered if they did not find themselves succumbing to the expectations of fame, and the people who they attach themselves to in order to attain such fame for themselves. We, of course, should not assume we are immune to such a temptation, but if and when we find ourselves falling for it, we must do what we can to retreat from it so that we can once again find ourselves turned toward God and God’s greater glory, looking at those who have attained such fame and how it has changed them as a warning to what could happen to us.
[1] The Book of Elders. Sayings of the Desert Fathers. The Systematic Collection. trans. John Wortley (Collegeville, MN: Cistercian Publications, 2012), 252 [Carion 1].
[2] The Book of Elders. Sayings of the Desert Fathers. The Systematic Collection, 272 [324-5].
[3] The Book of Elders. Sayings of the Desert Fathers. The Systematic Collection, 253 [Isaiah of Scete 21].
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