Maybe that’s ok. Maybe it’s best to not fight it. Let someone else be thanked, or congratulated, or praised, or awarded.
I think there is perhaps no faster way to offend another human being—especially if they live in a competitive, success-driven, image-obsessed culture like America—than to give someone else the credit for his or her work. Those are fightin’ words. There are entire TV shows based on that premise. In the age of the selfie and voyeuristic live videos, to be overlooked or anonymous equates to non-existence.
When Jesus turned water into wine, it was the groom who got the praise. Even though he had nothing to do with it. Even the servants who did the actual filling and pouring got no recognition. Jesus, it seems, remained simply another random guest at the party who went home quietly, with no fanfare. No viral video. No news story. Not even a handshake from the groom or a quietly whispered, “Thanks for saving my butt!” from the host.
The way of Christ is the way of invisibility, non-notoriety, and hiddenness. The fact that Jesus consistently promotes the secrecy of good deeds astounds me. It’s perhaps even more countercultural now than it was then. His frequent refrain after miraculously healing a person was to say, “Shhh! Don’t tell anyone! This will be our little secret.”
Crazy talk.
So then, when the high-fives for the killer wine went to the clueless young groom, Jesus just shrugged his shoulders and went back for another slice of cake.
One day credit will be given where credit was due. In the meantime, maybe it’s more fun to just be another anonymous guest at the party
