Embracing Obscurity: Becoming Nothing in Light of God's Everything [Kindle Edition]

Anonymous (Author)

Book Description

No matter how famous someone might be, the fact remains; most of the other seven billion people on Earth wouldn’t know him or her from the next person. Add this reality to one’s shrinking recognizability among the multiple billions down through history, and the worldly emphasis on standing out really falls flat; we’re all in this obscurity thing together.

Ironically, the trouble with me and you and the rest of humanity is not a lack of self-confidence but that we have far too much self-importance. To live and die unnoticed would seem a grave injustice to many. It’s all too easy to think we’re somebody if our portfolio is strong, there are a few letters after our name, or we’re well-known at work, church, or school.

As pride creeps in, we are tempted to want more: more recognition, more admiration, more influence, more, more, more. Few have ever given thought to wanting less. That’s why we need Embracing Obscurity.

Putting the premise into immediate action, an established Christian author electing to remain anonymous writes about living and dying in simplicity, contending that true success, as modeled by Jesus, starts with humility, service, sacrifice, and surrender. Such a life involves mystery and banks on the hope that today is just a dress rehearsal for eternity.

When we stop imitating the world and instead choose to embrace obscurity, real life -- chock full of significance, purpose, and renewed passion -- begins.

Product Details

• File Size: 547 KB
• Print Length: 224 pages
• Publisher: B&H Books (September 20, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B009EGBR80
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #55,411 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars If you are a nobody wanting to be a somebody, "Quit!" September 30, 2012

By David Rupert

There's something about this book that hit's me wrong. But as much as I hate to admit it, it's totally right.

The whole world right now is about getting noticed. If you are in business, just hunkering down and doing the work is no longer acceptable. There must be innovation, transformation and marketing of your idea. This is done in the boardroom all the way down to the boiler room.

Social media is all about standing out. We try to write clever Facebook status posts, hoping for "engagement" and likes. Twitter reposts are validation and the accumulation of friends and followers is the modern day treasure chest of status. Everyone is trying to be the loudest voice in a noisy world.

Embracing Obscurity is written by Anonymous. Right away I want to know the credibility of the writer, his theology, and his authority to speak truth. Just a few pages into the book and I'm realized that by looking at all of this first, I was missing the point on this book - and maybe my entire existence

Contrast this with Michael Hyatt's book, "Platform: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World."The CEO of Thomas Nelson gives all kinds of advice on how to stand above the crowd.Embracing Obscurity encourages you to fly under the radar, to let others get the attention while you go about God's work.

He admits, "The thought of being just one out of 100 billion people who have lived on this planet offends us."

We all want to be somebody. Whether it's an important opinion in the Bible study, a volunteer at the PTA, an innovator at work. If you are in the arts, you thrive on the cheers and adulation of those that admire your work....

There are Scriptural exhortations by the dozens that remind us about the pride that precedes the fall, the first becoming last, and the fate of the proud. Why do we ignore them and press on with the deception that we need to be somebody to be anybody? This book should rattle ministries to the core with its thunderous message of less.

"We have a misguided search for significance - a quest for success, wealthy, notoriety, power, or be in some way, any way different," the author writes. "When we accept that our value is not dependent on what we do or accomplish we are, ironically, liberated to do much for Christ."
David,[...] Read more ›

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Challenge October 16, 2012

By Joshua Lake

How do we break free from the embrace of pride? According to the anonymous author of Embracing Obscurity, we must first realize that we cannot do it alone; we must first submit ourselves to God. Second, we must follow the commands we find in Scripture (listed in Chapter Two).

While those two suggestions might seem obvious, this book's strength is in the author's call to intentional humility. Most of us allow pride's subtle tendrils to entwine our lives, never even recognizing their existence. This author forces the reader to take a realistic look at their life: "We are told, 'Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus' (Phil. 2:5). Yet interestingly enough, our current M.O. appears alarmingly similar to another disposition of which we learn in Scripture: Lucifer's."

That section, contrasting Christ's disposition in giving up heaven to enter our world with that of Satan in rebelling against God, was the strongest of the entire book. I read each contrasting pair with eyes wide open, recognizing far too much pride in my own life. Where Jesus did not count equality with God something to be grasped, I too often presume upon His grace. Where Jesus willingly humbled Himself, I too often seek out accolades. This book speaks right into that pride, reminding me that God calls most of us to live lives of humble service.

I recommend you pick up a copy of this book, primarily because it will challenge you to confront your own sin. You will be spurred to confess your pride to God and to commit yourself to a life of greater humility. While I thought the book was short on practical suggestions and became slow in the latter half, those two criticisms are far less weighty than the book's strengths, which are many.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars a countercultural message September 25, 2012

By Dr. Greg Smith (aka sowhatfaith)

Many today define success in terms of how much money, power, and prestige one attains. Embracing Obscurity calls those who follow the way of Jesus to aspire to the radical goal of blending into the fabric of humanity by becoming "just 1 in 7 billion." The author constructs an argument for this countercultural message based on Jesus' "model of selfless service and obscure suffering" (p.41).

Relying heavily upon Bible verses, personal experiences, and a variety of stories the author invites readers to reconsider how they will spend the rest of this life. The book features chapters focused on attributes Christians should seek to attain (including true success, servanthood, suffering, and hope), and concludes with a lengthy list of discussion questions for use in individual reflection or group study.

Written from a conservative Evangelical perspective using dated language for humanity and for the divine, Embracing Obscurity offers the faithful a reminder that their faith is not about adopting the ways of the dominant culture. Overall, the book is well suited to encourage those who have long believed its message but have not acted in accordance with such; it is unlikely to challenge the perspective of those with other religious perspectives or the non-religious.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An Important Opening to a Necessary Conversation October 14, 2012

By Aaron Armstrong

Amazon Verified Purchase

There's a funny thing that happens to people whenever they get a bit of notoriety (perceived or otherwise): They tend to get really excited about it. It starts out innocently enough--honest surprise that people are paying attention to what they're saying or doing. But eventually, we can too easily slip into thinking we're a kind of a big deal.

It's not that influence is wrong, but for the Christian especially, being a "somebody" may be more dangerous than we realize.

The author of Embracing Obscurity gets this. Choosing to remain anonymous, the author confronts the dangers of pursuing notoriety while challenging readers to regain a right perspective of who we are in light of who God is.

Regardless of who we are and what we're capable of, most of us are going to obscure, unknown... we're not going to be "somebodies" (whatever that means). Anonymous wants us to be okay with that. Rather that continuing to perpetuate our cultural addiction to self-importance, we must embrace the kind of humility that Christ modelled (cf. Phil 2:6-8).

Indeed, Anonymous reminds us that Jesus Himself, for the majority of His earthly life was, by all accounts, kind of a nobody.

"Have you ever wondered what might have filled the space between the apostle's narratives? What transpired between Jesus' birth and His first miracle at Cana? Apparently nothing worth the gospel writers' ink. We are left to assume the details of His early life based on the details of our own, normal lives. Jesus got taller. His voice deepened. He probably learned to work at his father's business. He became a man, a wise man who found favor with the people who knew Him, and favor with God. But to most He was just Yeshua, Mary and Joseph's oldest kid--a small-town boy with a love for God.... With such a common name, He could have been any Yosef, Loukas or Yohanan! Nothing to raise the suspicion of his fellow Jews that He might be the long-awaited Christ, hidden in plain sight. It was all just the way God wanted it."

This is very helpful for us to remember--an average life isn't less glorifying to God. In the years between His birth and public ministry, Jesus perfectly glorified God in all he said and did, yet he was pretty normal. Nothing to write home about. He wasn't living an audacious-world-changer-rock-your-socks kind of life.

He worked with His dad. He did chores. He went to Synagogue.

He was, more or less, like us. And if that was good enough for the God of the universe for the better part of 30 years, it ought to be good enough for us, shouldn't it?

To be clear, Anonymous isn't advocating that Christians shun public influence. He's not suggesting that those whom God allows to receive wider appreciation and/or acclaim hide under a basket. Instead, he calls them to embrace the spotlight as Christ did--giving glory to God and pointing others to Him, rather than succumbing to our pride. We must remember that such "success" isn't due to our accomplishments, ultimately, but to the grace and purposes of God:

"We don't deserve special privileges, luxury living or a higher level of respect from others because of our talents or bank accounts. We can't excuse snobbiness, hoarding or passive-aggressive pride because we won the popular vote or appeared in Adventure magazine. Some privileges and accolades may come in our lives, but if we start feeling entitled to them, we're already flirting with the Saul Syndrome [a deadly combination of pride and the fear of man]. All our successes, and all the earthly rewards that come with them are from God. It's all from God. We can't pretend we're ultimately responsible for our success any more than a homeless man can ultimately blame society for his homelessness."

Is Embracing Obscurity the final say on the matter? Not remotely. But it's an important opening to a necessary conversation. We all, regardless of the level of public influence afforded to us, need to wrestle with what it means for us to decrease so that Jesus' renown would increase (cf. John 3:30). I trust Embracing Obscurity will give you a great deal to consider and might challenge you to discover where you need to become less in others' eyes (and your own) in light of Christ. Read more ›