A Little Chat with God #8

 (heroes/mentors)

Good Morning God:

Today I want to discuss with You another common word, “hero” or mentors.  So many times we talk about our “hero”, and while I think it is good for people to have someone to look up to, or to follow as an example, this “title” is beginning to carry a slightly twisted connotation now than in the past.  It is such a shame that in our society today, that we don’t look to the heroes of biblical time and use them as our heroes or mentors.

Nevertheless, and unfortunately, our children look up to the current sports figures and celebrities of our time as their heroes, but yet, look at the example some of these popular figures are setting!  Some are charged with DUI, they have anger management problems, they beat up their wife, the get involved with drugs . . . that type of person is NOT a person to look up to; they are NOT examples of the term hero  and are not a mentor by any stretch of the imagination.

Our movie stars fall in the same category as they get involved with multiple marriages, alcoholism and drugs just for starters.  I think they feel that if one marriage doesn’t work out another one will and we find there is no commitment here (of course a lot of people share that same opinion).  Marriage is a lifetime commitment between a man and a woman in its initial concept from the beginning when God created Adam and Eve in the garden, but our society has gone way to the left with marriage to0 (but I will discuss this with you at a later time).

I wonder if these elite people (of all categories) who know that people see what they do and know they have “admirers”, but yet they continue to do “their own thing” because they like it and it satisfies their immediate desires, and never give thought as to whether it is right or wrong . . . do they even consider how their actions are perceived by the younger generation? Do they even care as long as they are so popular and in such demand?  You and I both know the answer to this is a resounding NO!  

In fact, in my personal opinion, they thrive on the attention they are getting from the public and would do most anything to keep their popularity in force.  Our young people see these lives paraded in movies, magazines, TV shows and commercials, and unless they have Godly parents to instruct them in right and wrong at a young age, our children (our future generation of leaders) will be of the opinion that if such a lifestyle is acceptable for the celebrities and high profile leaders to live by and get praised for, it will also be acceptable for them as well, and this is where trouble starts.

Celebrities and people of the upper echelon, I do not care who they are or how prominent they are . . . they DO have a responsibility to act appropriately, setting the acceptable role models for our children.  But what I am seeing over and over again is that these famous people continue in this atrocious lifestyle of greed, dishonesty, power and sometimes even murder, to accomplish their personal goals.  And sadder yet is that they get away with it on so many occasions.  It is like their conscience has been seared with the seal of evil.  Then, when they finally get caught up in their own entanglement of lies and other misdeeds, they hire the best lawyer to “get them off”.  An indirect side effect of their flagrant and provocative lifestyle, for those who looked up to them as “heroes” or “mentors” is that they hurt so many young and innocent people without the first thought to the possible unhealthy contributing role they have played in some youngster’s life.

And while we have great leaders from the beginning of our country’s drafting of the Constitution, even their personal lives were blemished with drunkenness and adultery.  Yet they were great men in the sight of all and even centuries later, we honor them.  I think it is almost a given (note I said almost here) that in so many instances of a rise to power, you will gradually see corruption subtly creeping into their personal values system.  Don’t get me wrong . . . we do have heroes whose selfless acts line the pages of our bibles and history books.  These are the men and women of great courage, valor, intelligence and honor to whom we owe our freedoms and our current abundant style of life today, but when you research their personal life, it is fraught with misdeeds of an unsuitable nature.

Even in our legends and mythology history, we thought of a hero as one with sometimes “divine” ancestry who had great strength and courage and who was celebrated for his bold exploits and favored by the gods.  Coined in English in 1387, hero comes from the Greek language and literally means “protector” or defender”.  It is also thought to be a cognate of the Latin verb servo “to preserve whole” and of the Avestan verb haurvaiti “to keep vigil over”.   Regardless of how this word came about, today its connotation to most of us is to describe someone (male or female) who, in the face of danger and adversity, or from a position of weakness, displays courage and the will for self sacrifice for some greater good of an individual or of all humanity,  The hero is often simply an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances, who, despite the odds being stacked against him, typically prevails in the end; a person noted for feats of courage or nobility or purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his life.

In biblical days, Moses was a hero to the Israelite nation, but even he was guilty of murdering an Egyptian.  David was noted as being a man after Your own heart, but he committed adultery and murder. There are numerous distinguished kings with great leadership strength who followed Your ways and are said to be “heroes” in their time right along with those following them who did evil.  There were Judges who were heroes during their rule as well.  We also have the prophets, martyrs and apostles who were heroes for religious freedom and truth.

The more I think about this word  hero,  the more I begin to realize that a hero to us is not always someone who lives by the rules and leads an exemplary life, but yet one who has done something very courageous, perhaps even putting his own life in harm’s way to save another.  Even the heroes of old had their sins to contend with but here is where the difference therein lies . . . Moses and David were sorry about their misdeeds and turned their life around with repentance, Godly repentance.  In that respect they showed great character to face their wrong and to do the best to make things right in the future.  Our celebrity or high profile people many think as heroes of today may say “I am sorry” but 99% of the time this is to save face in the eyes of the public or they are simply sorry that they got caught!

And then we have our heroes of war . . . those bold and brave individuals who fight for our freedom day in and day out, some who die at a very tender age  an unwanted death at the hands of a torturous enemy in remote areas of the world.  If it were not for these brave soldiers, we would not be living in the free society we have today.

We have other heroes in all areas of law enforcement, security and firefighting, who continually put themselves between us and danger, and have given their lives so that others may live,

We have countless other people who are the unsung heroes of our time that go undercover and remain nameless and unrecognized as to the role they played in a covert operation that resulted in resolution of a serious breach of freedom.

There are everyday people that are not “titled” who do extraordinary deeds when the time presents itself, doing so without a moment’s hesitation or thought to the danger they may be putting themselves in, to save another.

I just realized I am writing this on the eve of the 10^th anniversary of the 9-1-1 attack on New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania. There were so many unknown heroes on that horrendous day of our history.  This was a day, for those who were among the living and saw all the unbearable scenes of death and destruction, that has been seared into our memories . . . a day we will never forget.

As I sit here and chat with you, I realize that a hero is a valiant, strong, caring, considerate and compassionate individual who will not hesitate for a second to jump out of his comfort zone to help another in dire straits, regardless of the circumstances, and without concern for his own personal safety.  The personal life, whether it is good or bad, is not a factor within the true meaning, when someone reacts with such haste to immediately come to the aid of others,

And now that I have given such consideration to this subject, I think I have about exhausted my thoughts on heroes/mentors, but this has been good for me to pursue this line of thinking.  I have come to fully realize that a hero/mentor is not the “near perfect person who has done something courageous” but rather a courageous person who has done something near perfect for someone else, without regard for his own safety.

It is so good to chat with You on so many things as I have in the past. I always end up being more knowledgeable than when I first started.  I know you are so patient with me and for that I am so thankful.  Until next time . . .

Written by

Ruth Miller

© 9/10/11