How many artists are content to work in obscurity, and not be affected by the desire to be recognised for their work (or integrity or whatever)? I was challenged with it again today. A 'daily reading' calendar had a verse that cut through me a bit. Later I sat down at breakfast and flipped open my Bible, ready to hunt for somewhere to read. My eye went straight to a verse: the same one as the calendar!

“And seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not...” Jeremiah 45:5.

'Great things' aren't necessarily bad, they're just not to be our motivation (unless we're seeking great things for others? Without needing to be admired for that, of course!). Here's another verse that stuck out to me recently (I'm storing up a collection. I might put a list of them here one day):

“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.”

'Exalt' may mean something different to God than it does to us, of course. An opposite situation is the fear of being noticed, but that's another story!