Superstar Syndrome // Little People Used by a Big God, Part 1

The world is full of superstars - sports stars, soapy stars, rock stars, influencers. Have you noticed? Now, there's nothing wrong with that, but what happens when this whole superstar syndrome starts messing with our own self-esteem?

We live in an era of superstars – men and women who have been pumped up by the media until they are larger than life. Whether sports stars or singers turned lingerie designers, or business gurus, or personal development magi, they command unfathomable salaries for minimal output. They go from person to phenomenon, from soapy star to superstar. Their faces are instantly recognised, people flock to get a glimpse of them.

But the superstar coin has two sides to it. The side that we like to look at is the shiny side, the one that speaks of celebrating success. But the other side is, well, kind of dull, you have to rub it to read the writing, but it says something like, if they are a success, you're not. They've made it, you never will. But we don't like to look at that side too much, so we flick it up in the air with our thumb and hope that it comes up heads.

Well, in a sense there is nothing wrong with superstars, there is nothing wrong with admiring people. There are some sports stars and entertainment stars and contemporary philosophers, and commentators and you know, we look at people and we think, gee, I really like that person. I love the actors, and the writers and the directors on the television show The West Wing. I think that is clever and I love it.

There are some cricketers - I am a great cricket fan. I don't know whether you like cricket, know what cricket is, hate cricket. There are just a few cricket players that I look at and think they are really, really good guys. And there's the odd politician and it's okay to admire, to respect, to enjoy their achievements.

People like that can have a good and a positive impact on our lives. They can be good role models, they can teach us things, they entertain us, they lead us and most of them come from humble roots. All of them were unknowns once. And somehow they have been good at what they do and they've made it.

Who are the people that you admire? The names, the faces, the achievements? That's good, its right that we should look up to certain people as role models. But here's how it starts to go off the rails. Fame these days equals fortune. Recognition equals the opportunity to make big, big bucks. That's why soapy stars become singers, become lingerie brands. That's why generals who fought in the Gulf War, travel the world speaking at conferences, where people pay thousands for a seat to listen just for two hours.

People – when they become famous, become a commercial commodity. They become a commodity that can make money. And so, the media pumps them up and they become larger than life. Larger than you and me and something inside us secretly aspires to being like that. Because we live in a world that suffers from "celebrity syndrome", from "superstar syndrome", something inside a lot of people says, 'I want to be like that too'. But for 99.99% of us we can never achieve that.

It's not just in rich and affluent cultures. It's true in Africa, it's true in very poor parts of Asia, it's true in poor black communities in America. They elevate a black sporting star and they pay that person megabucks, to sell shoes and sporting clothes into the black ghettos with a message that says, 'Well, you can get out of the ghetto too. You can be like this sporting star too'. As though a pair of runners can do that for you. You see the cycle?

So back to your and me. It may get us to buy whatever they are selling, and they are always selling something. But what's the message it sends to you and me about what we're worth? Well, let's go back to that superstar coin; look at the other side for a minute. Look at all the people you admire in the media, in sport, on television, in the movies and so on.

Now put yourself up next to them. How do you stack up? How valued do you feel? How successful are you? I mean, in your own eyes, what's the image that you carry around of yourself in your heart?

That can be a scary thing to answer. Because when we suffer from 'superstar syndrome' we look at those superstars with more than admiration. We look at them as something we aspire to but we know deep in our hearts we can never achieve. And all of a sudden our sense of worth becomes messed up.

It may sell sporting shoes and t-shirts but it's easy to see where low self-esteem comes from. And so when it comes to God, whoever God is to you, it's easy for us to impose that whole superstar syndrome thing on Him. We imagine somehow that He would show up for the superstars – the big people, the people with value and importance, the people who can wave their arms and command crowds of tens of thousands. The people who are BIG, even if they're b