On Friday, January 24, 2014 the USA Today ran an article on a Texas politician. It opened with these words: “We don’t need a hero.”
Perhaps. But there is something in all of us that desperately wants one. Even more, there is a tendency in many of us to think we have to be one.
Children make heroes out of fictional characters. Teenagers make heroes out of equally fictional athletic super stars. And then there are the adults. We do it too, you know. Enamored with success. Overwhelmed with oratorical skills. Intrigued by the mystique of someone in authority.
This is one of the devil’s devices. It is closely akin to idolatry because it places the emphasis on man instead of Jesus.
The word “hero” by definition is someone endowed with great strength and admirable qualities, the central figure in an event or period.
I am grateful to God for war heroes – giving their life to extend the cause of liberty. In a very personal and human way my dad has always been my hero. My heart is full of admiration for faithful preachers who have given of themselves in the work of the Lord.
But in the end…
We don’t need a hero. We already have one.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the central figure in our story. It is He alone who stands as the Strong One in the annals of history. Only Jesus is truly worth of hero status. Only He is worthy of admiration and worship.
Young David killed Goliath when he was about 17 years of age. Quite a heady thing for a teenage boy! They wrote songs about him: “Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” He heard their song. But he never sang it.
The sweet psalmist of Israel wrote hundreds of songs, but you will search in vain through all of the psalms to find even one that David wrote about Goliath. All of his psalms were about God.
It is the worldly Philistine mind that says, “Send out your champion! Let’s match our hero with yours.” How God must laugh at us!
Let’s get over our hero mentality. Stop trying to be one. Cease your search for one. They will disappoint you at some level. At the least, they will die and become but a memory. But Jesus is “the same, yesterday, and today, and forever.”
Make your songs about Him. “Worship God.”
