More Than Gold • 5

"It's part of the show," he said. "People want a show, so I give them a show." Now, that's a paraphrase, so don't go looking for that exact quote on the internet, but last night, before Usain Bolt was preparing to run, NBC ran an interview with he and Bob Costas, in which Costas asked about the way Bolt "performs" for the crowd after a race. It's a show, he said. It's part of the act. It's entertainment, according to Bolt.

Bolt has lived up to his name, that's for sure. He runs like a lightning bolt. He has earned the title "fastest man alive," though there were some men last night who would have liked to take that title from him. Nevertheless, Bolt won the 100m race, but what happened after was what intrigued me. First, Bolt drew attention to himself, welcoming the applause. Then, the cameras caught him kneeling, bowing, signing himself with the sign of the cross, pointing to God, and apparently praying for a moment. When the moment passed, Bolt was back to welcoming, receiving, even encouraging the adulation of the crowd.

I'm not trying to comment on Bolt here. Much of what he does probably is part of the "show," and I don't know a thing about any personal faith he may or may not have. But what struck me was how his actions after the race is very often the same way we respond. We do something, finish a project, preach a sermon, teach a lesson, and when people come around telling us we did a good job, how do we respond? Often, Christian humility has taught us to deflect, to "give praise to God," and we do that, but inside we're soaking up the adulation. Sometimes, we even encourage the adulation in ways both subtle and obvious. (For instance, for me, it's hard to believe a Christian author is really trying to point toward God when their big professionally-airbrushed picture is all that is ever on the front cover of their books.)

The question is this: who really gets the honor for what is achieved? Jesus said it this way: "Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven" (Matthew 6:1). And he goes on to criticize those who do good things in order to be noticed. Such folks, he says, have already received all the recognition, all the reward, they will ever get. Once again, Jesus reminds us that we, as disciples of his, are pursuing more than gold, and more than adulation. We are seeking only the approval of our heavenly Father. His word, "well done," is all that matters in the end.