The Internet has created entirely new industries. Social media marketing, data science, and SaaS (software-as-a-service) companies all directly owe their entire existence to the creation of the Internet. This also extends beyond professions—the democratization of written, photographic, or video content has altered traditional industries like media and television. Everyone can now have a viral moment, but many will not.

As many of us chase fame and meaning in a digital environment, exploding the growth of platforms like YouTube and TikTok, most participants will amount to meager, insignificant views. Not everyone is chasing fame, undoubtedly, but many are. Many of those will fail. Therefore, our culture assumes that those who are famous have somehow done something correctly to deserve it. Whether it be the all-star athletes, the funniest comedians, or the best musical performers, fame is regularly linked to success and fulfillment. Yet, many of these representatives are flawed; we uncover it in later memoirs or current scandals. Others are more obvious, rising to fame by selling themselves and their inherent value for a mere moment of attention.

Despite being another failed desire from the world, there is something self-aggrandizing about chasing fame on that scale. Such pursuits stand in stark contrast to a faith-filled life. There’s nothing wrong with gaining fame or notoriety by or through our faithful activities, but—like all things—it’s a matter of the heart. One could argue that the characters of the Bible are some of the most famous in history. Indeed, the heroes of Moses, Abraham, and David have been well-known for millennia. Maintaining popularity over thousands of years is incredible, especially in our week-to-week pace of virality.

Not all bible characters arise to that level. Reading through the book of Judges, there is a litany of characters, and many are well-known. Samson, Gideon, and Deborah are fan faves, yet, still others are not. I was particularly struck while reading Judges 10. The chapter opens with two lives, spanning 45 years of leadership over the course of only 5 verses.

Tola was a man from the tribe of Issachar. “'He led Israel twenty-three years; then he died, and was buried in Shamir.” (Judges 10:2, NIV) Tola was followed by Jair from Gilead. He led for twenty-two years and was particularly wealthy with 30 sons on 30 donkeys. Then he died. After Jair, the Israelites fall to the cultural religions of the Baals and Ashoreths to repeat their experience of anguish and then restoration through a particularly flawed character in Jephthah.

Tola and Jair make it as historical mentions, but there is no story of salvation or praise. All we can surmise is that either the enemies of the Israelites were so decimated after the previous Judges that it took a generation to build up their forces or—and this is more likely—that these men faithfully served the Lord while leading Israel. If we accept the latter explanation, what does that tell us about the more frequent characters of the Bible?

God protects the intentionally righteous. We see this in other areas of the Bible. One regular reference is in Psalm 1, where the righteous man does not adapt to the wicked culture but meditates on the word of the Lord. This man prospers in all that he does. Similarly, with Abraham—we only read of the most dramatic forms of his faithfulness. Little is mentioned about his many years in his own desert. The entire story of his son, Isaac, can be read in a couple of minutes. We know little of Peter, James, John, and the other disciples beyond the 3 years of Jesus’ ministry; once the church is established, attention turns from the persons and to the message through epistles, letters, and sermons.

The same can be said for Tola and Jair in Judges 10. All that’s left to show for their faithfulness are five verses spanning almost five decades. Does it seem backward for the Bible to expound so much on worldly drama instead of reveling in those who live faithfully and successfully?

No, it is not backward. The Bible is not about how successful mankind can be. The Bible is not necessarily about how holy God’s judgment will be. Instead, the Bible’s central theme is God’s overwhelming grace toward His fallen creation: Man. This is best exemplified through the pinnacle sacrifice of Christ, but the theme is there from Genesis to Revelation. As men and women struggle with worldly dispositions, God’s patience, consequences, and ultimate grace are commonly in view. The historical narratives often skipped on Sunday mornings reveal the depravity of those who benefitted from the faithfulness of their ancestors and squandered it on the world. The Bible regularly shows how God steps in to save his repentant people or allows them to bear the brunt of their poor worldly choices.

The lives of faithfulness are marked by peace. This peace is not newsworthy, and it is not salacious. Man’s flair for the obscene does not appreciate it until after life ends, and the crowd is perplexed as to how someone could live so long with such simplicity and contentment. The countercultural example becomes attention-worthy only after having successfully completed the race faithfully.

However, peace is what we so often crave. Security in position and provision is an internal peace we want. Securing a relationship provides peace in appreciation. Social justice movements and international organizations seek peace from war and violence. Peace is our objective, but we regularly reproof God as the source of peace and misassign it to ourselves. No wonder we are left unsatisfied.

A faithful life still encounters sickness and death. A faithful life is still attacked by drama and uncertainty. Trials are inescapable on this side of heaven. However, a faithful life is marked by the unexplainable peace of God (Philippians 4:7). It may not be glitzy or glamorous. Still, just like Tola and Jair, the legacy of a faithful life outlasts life itself and sets itself apart from a world constantly distracted by self-indulgent false fame and unrest.

Don’t we all want a piece of true, enduring peace? A faith-filled life is the only way to get it.

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