Who was your childhood hero? Did you want to be like Mike? Perhaps you thought Muhammad Ali was the greatest? Maybe you were wrapped up in Hulkamania? As kids, we all have people that we consider to be our heroes. When I was a kid my idea of a hero was fleeting at best. Ozzie Smith, Michael Jordan, Joe Montana, Mark McGwire, Wolverine, Batman, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Lee and the list goes on and on. All of these people/characters were heroes for me at one time or another. Some lasted for years, some for a few months, but I placed each one on a pedestal at some point in my life. As I grew older, my idea of what a hero is changed and then, my grandfather became my hero.
You see, as a kid, my idea of what made a hero required something grandiose and epic: winning the championship, defeating the bad guy or saving the world. However, as I grew older my ideas of what made a hero changed drastically. It didn’t require making the game winning shot, hitting the walk-off home run or defeating the evil villain; instead, I saw people taking care of their families and standing up for what they believed in as being heroic. It wasn’t that I was choosing to dilute my aspirations, but more that my outlook had changed. I came to realize while my team winning the championship was thrilling and exciting, it didn’t really have any lasting effect on my life. However, my grandfather, being the man that he was, had a profound effect on me and the person that I wanted to be. Actually, he still does, to this day.
Of course, there was also the fact that while top athletes may be the best at what they do; they won’t make every play, win every game or play forever, eventually they have to retire. Even the coolest action stars eventually have to stop making movies. Then, you also have all the scandals and controversies that always seem to pop up and tarnish the hero status of so many. Even Wolverine has died several times and Batman was defeated and paralyzed by Bane. It seemed like no matter who I looked up to, eventually they let me down. It wasn’t their fault; actually, I would venture to say that none of them, except the obviously fictional characters, really wanted to be anybody’s hero. They were just regular men and women doing the best they could with the talent they were given. However, we decide to put them on a pedestal and then we are devastated when the inevitable “fall from grace” occurs.
You may be able to find a few celebrities whom have managed to go through their entire career without any major wrongdoing, but unfortunately these examples are few and far between. Yet, if you look at the current trend in Hollywood, it is clear that the love of heroes is just as strong as it has ever been. I’m not just talking about the slew of Marvel and DC superhero movies and TV shows that we have seen over the last several years either. Movies like 13 hours: Secret Soliders of Benghazi, The Finest Hours, Free State of Jones, Sully, Snowden, Hacksaw Ridge, Loving and Bleed for This are all attempting to tell the story of a hero. That is just a partial list of the true story movies that came out in 2016, but it can still give you an idea of how we are regaled with stories of heroism.
It’s not without reason though, Hollywood keeps making these movies, because we love them. We love to hear about people that have gone above and beyond for others. We may even love to hear these stories more today than we ever have before, since it would seem to be something that happens far too rarely these days. People today often choose to not get involved in the affairs of others. After all, “it isn’t my business” or “my problem.” These two phrases have probably caused more damage to society than we will ever realize.
We have become a people that are constantly hoping for someone else to save us, somebody else that will stand up where so many others won’t, somebody, other than me, that will do what is necessary to reverse the brokenness that we see all around us. We seem to constantly be looking for somebody to come along and fix the things that we refuse to do ourselves. Since that is what we want, Hollywood is more than willing to cash in on it. That is really what they are in the business of; cashing in on our hopes and dreams, especially the hopes that are never realized and the dreams we didn’t chase that have entered into the realm of mere fantasy. As a result, we get movie after movie and story after story of “heroes” both current and of days long since gone. However, these people we watch in the movies often received their “hero” status based on one particular thing that they did. That isn’t to say that what they did wasn’t great, that it shouldn’t be remembered or celebrated. However, it does raise a question: were these people always heroic or would they eventually fall under scrutiny like all the rest? No offense to any of those people but I would be willing to bet that the latter is true.
I said earlier that my Grandfather became the person that I looked to as a hero as I grew older. My grandfather was a man of God, a pastor, a man of integrity and a World War 2 veteran. I never saw him angry or upset or treat anybody with anything other than love and respect. I also never saw him shy away from what he believed in even when doing so could benefit him. Yet, I know he had bad days like everybody else. The picture that I have of my grandfather is of a nearly perfect man, but I know that even my grandfather would have been quick to tell you that he wasn’t perfect. I know that my grandfather did things that I wouldn’t have considered heroic and I’m sure that he made some wrong choices in his life. My point is he was certainly a man that I would say is worthy of looking up to, but at the end of the day he wasn’t perfect and so I’m sure, if I had the ability to look at everything he ever did, at some point the hero title would be ruined and I would feel let down by the truth.
As time has gone by, I have come to look at celebrities, friends and family less and less as my heroes. There are people I admire and look at as mentors. There are certainly a lot of talented and intelligent celebrities in the world and I admire their skill and cherish their wisdom, but I have learned not to place them on the hero pedestal. I just don’t like to be let down. I don’t want to have to explain to my friends or my kids why I was aspiring to be more like this person, after the seemingly inevitable, opprobrium takes place.
I also feel like if you choose a hero, it should be more than just an admiration for a certain character trait or a certain skill but rather a driving aspiration to be more like them. I love sports and I love to watch the greats, play the game, because you never know what kind of play they will pull off at any given time. However, I can go to the batting cages, practice my 3 point shot, or work on my tackling all day everyday, but is that going to make me a better husband? I love listening to music and I think Slash is one of the greatest guitarists currently playing today, but even if I practice and learn to play just like him, will that make me a better father? I would have mastered the very skill that I admire, the very thing that made me consider them my hero only to find that it takes much more than that to really impact people’s lives. It would take a whole lot more than a grand slam or a guitar solo to become the man that I want to be.
The other issue I have is I don’t want to look at just one moment of somebody’s life and use that as the measuring stick for my success. It wouldn’t really seem fair to measure my life’s success against one buzzer beating 3 point shot, in that one championship game. It may be a great moment and was, no doubt, exciting to watch. But I’m not looking for my entire success to boil down to one moment. I truly believe that anybody can be great for a moment. Anybody can be a hero for a day, but what I’m looking for is somebody that can be a hero every day and every moment, because that is what I want. I want to be a hero every day of my life. I want to be striving for something better with every moment.
So who do I consider to by me Hero? Jesus Christ. I know what you are thinking. “Well, of course you would say that. It is the best Christian answer.” But let me explain before you think I’m just being self-righteous. You see Jesus Christ is who I aspire to be more like every day. I know I won’t ever achieve it, but do we really want to be able to surpass our heroes? I’ve never heard a single person say I always admired this person but now I am even better than they were. In fact, B.B. King, one of the most influential and recognized blues guitarists of all time, said in his autobiography, that T-Bone Walker had a totally unique sound and he wished he had that recognizable of a sound. We always place our heroes on a pedestal above ourselves, and if by some chance, we do achieve a level that we think is better than our heroes, we just choose a new hero. We want and often need something to aspire to. Jesus will always give me something to aspire to be and always provide me with the drive to be better. I also know Jesus will never let me down. So, I don’t have to worry about the disappointment and shame that comes from the celebrity scandals or just human imperfection. Plus, I want to be someone that will never let my wife and kids down. Again, that may not be a realistic goal, but that won’t stop me from striving to achieve it. Jesus was willing to lay down his life for the people that He loved, and I want to be someone that will sacrifice anything including my life for the people that I love. Jesus knows and loves me unlike celebrities who have no idea who I am. Jesus will always love me and always want to be with me unlike the people in our lives that seem to come and go. There is no fear of abandonment with Jesus. He is eternal so I don’t have to worry about Him retiring. He is the true greatest of all time. He is the champion who has never been defeated, the King that will never lose his crown, The MVP of our time and of all time, He is my savior, and the hero of all mankind.
He wasn’t just great for a moment. He has and will always be the ultimate example of what we should all be striving for. Yet, again I know I won’t ever be able to achieve this level of excellence, but that is ok because, unlike the images of our heroes we often hold in our head, Jesus offers me the grace to mess up. He offers me the forgiveness I need when I fail and fall short. He is the wonderful counselor so he will always be there to offer me wisdom when times get hard and being a hero seems far out of reach. When is the last time Lebron James called you up and told you how to be a better basketball player? Jesus is also the best hero for me to share with my kids. I know my sons, while they are still young, will attempt to mimic me and the things that I do, and if I am attempting to follow Jesus and aspiring to be more like Him then I know they are impersonating the best possible example that I can give. Not to mention, as they get older, Jesus is a hero that I can pass on to them, without any worry that His, hero status has been tainted by anything He has done.
I’m not saying there is anything wrong with watching superhero movies or admiring the actions of some of the heroes we see in the movies and hear about on the news. Quite honestly, I love those movies just as much as everybody else and will, at times, go out of my way to hear an uplifting story. I share my love of superheroes with my sons. I have bought them quite a few superhero toys and they have learned that if they want to know who somebody is; they can just ask me and I will know the name. I also take them to the comic book store from time to time and when we do they get to choose one age appropriate comic for themselves. I love sharing that joy with them and I can’t wait until they can start reading comics and watching the movies with me.
I’m also not trying to cheapen any heroes that you may have in your life. There are a lot of great people in this world. A lot of people have accomplished amazing things. However, I don’t want to just be great. I don’t want to just accomplish something that is amazing. I want to be a hero, even if the only people that recognize it are my wife and kids. I want to follow a hero even if some people try to act like he is a villain. I want to stand up for what is right and stand out as somebody that always strives to do what is best. I want to leave a legacy not of accomplishments, wealth, or being a “good” guy, but the legacy of being a hero. And if being a hero is what you aspire to be, then Jesus isn’t just a standard; He is THE standard.
So let me ask you this…Who is your Hero?
