Embracing Obscurity - A book review

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But what if the top of the ladder isn’t what you expected? You worked so hard to get here, dreaming of the day when you will have wealth and power. Everyone looking at you in awe as you walk by, drooling for an invitation to your Private Island, or dinner on your personal yacht. Of course, it can all be very exciting and rewarding for a time, but are you aware of the true cost?

Now you made it, you have conquered, reached your goal, gained the respect you longed for. Now what? Here you are, standing on the top rung of your personal ladder, looking over the rooftop of your success. It’s not exactly what you thought it would be. Instead of the warmth of sunshine and palm trees, you see concrete and clouds. What you expected to be as exciting as an island paradise actually feels like just another drab roof in the concrete jungle of life. You realize that everything is meaningless. You aren't satisfied. You need more. Maybe you just have to work harder, increase your sacrifice.

Hollow laughter surrounds you. You see all the beautiful people you fought to mix with. Suddenly you realize that they are only empty and disillusioned shells of the personalities they were meant to be. Just like you. Their happiness suddenly seem shallow, fake. Why did you ever want to be like them? Where did you go wrong?

Looking back down your ladder, you are reminded what the price of success has been. The way is littered with lost relationships, broken promises and compromised morals. You have embraced everything the world has to offer; everything you ever wanted is at your fingertips. But where is the joy you expected, the happiness and satisfaction of worldly success? You are not alone. Stretching into the distance as far as you can see, there are others like you. Standing at the top of their ladders, looking across their rooftops and realizing for the first time that it has all been a con. They will never be satisfied, there is always more to be needed. Suddenly you feel very small. For all the significance you have acquired, you are still only one in nearly seven billion people who walk this planet. Each one wrapped up in their own quest, and most of them don’t even care that you exist.

Sorrow fills you. It just wasn’t worth the sacrifices. But what could you have done differently? Is there a way to have peace instead of emptiness inside? Can we be significant? Is there another path? I believe there is another way. It's not what you would expect and many will refuse to try. But if you swallow your prejudice and open your heart to God, your life will never be the same.

Embracing Obscurity, a new book coming out in October, will give you another option on how to live a life of significance. Pointing you back to the Bible, it will teach you how to put aside your own prideful ambitions and embrace worldly obscurity to find your identity in Jesus. By following Christ’s examples of humility we can shed our dependence on the empty accolades of the world and find our true significance in Him. You will learn how to redefine your value and have an understanding of true success. When these things are no longer tied to your own achievements, you will discover the freedom to be everything He intended for you to be.