When we hear the word
heroism our minds are filled with images of Superman or Wonder Woman. Obviously, they are a figment of someone’s
imagination and outside what most of us would call the norm. That can be said of different people who have
been elevated in the public eye by single accomplishments. Like someone going into a burning vehicle or home
to rescue someone. Most of us don’t come
across events that demand our intervention on that level. We have established the Special Olympics to
encourage and reward those who are working with diverse problems. Yet again these events are for the few and
the many are ignored.
What we are looking for is a hero who
lives beside us in their own home and drive an older car. They eat the same food that we do, and we
don’t know the correct spelling of their last names. We don’t know what they do for a living and
aren’t really needing to know anyway.
Their spouse and kids come and go across the corner of your lawn to the
bus stop a block away and come home the same way. Every day ordinary people not looking for
events in their lives with which they become the hero.
What is heroism? Again, our minds go to the extreme event or
incident. The person who jumps on the
subway tracks to pick up a person who has fallen comes to mind. Maybe it’s the actions of the few who take a
stand against tyranny risking their lives for the many. Somewhere in this definition “heroism” and
“persecution” intersect. Perhaps the act
of heroism is to help those who are persecuted.
Maybe it’s the persecuted not giving into the pressure with which they
live. How about the student who stands
up to the bully or the coach who won’t tolerate favoritism? You see, heroism comes in many different
forms. We started with the imaginary and
now end up in your living room with you.
We even go to great extents in labeling
all policemen, firemen and emergency medical personnel as heroes just because
of the job they do. We don’t do that for
bicycle repairmen or the neighborhood teen who delivers the paper every
morning. We idolize some folks because
they took a stand for or against something.
Take for example the mother/father who filed court papers to protect
their kids. Perhaps you have been very
thankful for the insurance who was FOR you in getting your home fixed after a
fire. The ordinary everyday functions of
our lives can bloom into heroism. For
most they do not.
Let’s think about the elements we attach
to heroism. Unselfishness is top on my
list. Unselfishness is both caring and
not caring depending on whether you are the person doing or the person
receiving. Add in a little bit of
selfishness and the hero tag goes away.
The greater the risk the more importance we place on unselfishness. The person who saves another’s life gains
much more hero status than the person who saves a cat from a tree. There are some whom we expect to be
heroic. They are expected to be
unselfish in their police duties, firemen duties, and emergency medical
professionals.
Another element found in our definition
of heroism is the degree of risk. Not
just any degree of risk but extreme degrees of risk. My stopping to help someone change a flat
tire is no act of heroism to me. There
is no risk and it’s an expectation I place on myself. You’re taking a meal to a neighbor just home
from the hospital is not heroism. Rather
there is an expectation within you that you would do this for them. The grocery clerk who catches your bananas as
they fall from the bagging area is not a hero for the same reason as the
preceding examples. With the people who
have had the intervention, you who do these things as part of your day become
heroes in their minds.
Many people wish to stay out of the
limelight while others seek the limelight for every little thing. While they look for opportunity to be the
hero; others see them as just looking out for number one. An element of heroism for these people is
opportunism. The self-seeking hero may
be revered in the newspaper or magazine just because it’s a human-interest
story. Those familiar with the incident
know otherwise. True heroes are
rare. True heroes do not think of their
own self. You would hear the real heroes
saying; “It’s just something anyone would do.”
They might also say, “It was nothing.”
The difference between the two examples is the motive they have inside
of themselves. What is the motive of
heroes?
As we can see, the “heroism” around us
can take many forms. There are many
aspects that bring heroism to the surface in an individual or group. Even if someone acts selfishly; they may be a
hero. The real hero goes on about his
life with no real change in who they are.
They go back to living life as it’s dealt to them. They still go home after work, play with the
kids and kiss the wife. They also still
go to the gym with their friends and to the movies with their significant
other. All the while putting the heroic
act out of their minds. Heroism is a moment in time and not a time in one’s
life where they are a hero. It’s not a
vocation and certainly doesn’t pay very well.
Some people’s heroism has cost them their lives. It was not a life of being a hero. It was a moment in time. All of humanity depend on that moment in
time.
“Not true!” you cry. “Heroism is all around us all the time.” Is it?
This certainly depends on what our definition of heroism is. For some, heroism is a detachment of Marines
dropping food into an impoverished group of people one day and the next day
taking on a firefight to protect that same group. The people see both actions as heroism while
the Marines (true Marines) are just doing their job. For the hero the extraordinary is not that
significant. For the benefactor, the
actions are significant and often mean living or dying. This is held true for the police also. Though there are groups and individuals
(criminals) who disagree, these men and women go to work expecting to have
extraordinary events come their way.
They are just doing their jobs.
In this area of life, we place extremes
on the definition. For instance, that
ONE person who acted to save a life amongst a crowd is the hero. The rest who stood by and did nothing are
losers. The one who acted to save a life
is unselfishness and those who stood by and did nothing are selfish. With this in mind; we are quick to judge all
people with an all or nothing mentality.
The media often hypes up the incident to make the person (hero or
villain) bigger than life. Where there
is a moment in time they can draw out a lifetime of either extreme. When was the last time you heard the media
categorize an enemy combatant killed as a victim? How about as a hero? Yet, the soldier fighting for “good” when
killed is a hero.
Selfishness is always demanding. Unselfishness is never demanding. Be careful here as we may see some who seem
one or the other hand, are not. Same
goes for heroes. Some are, and some are
not. How can we know if someone is a
hero? What should we do with someone who
is a hero? How can we NOT expect that
person to be a hero over and over? Can
we understand that no one has super powers to call upon when needed? I suggest we look at motives for our heroic
actions. We are a sinful people and we
do have motives for what we do. Some
people’s motives are from pure motives while others have their own selves elevated
to being hero from the mundane life they live.
James 4:1-3 tells us: “What
causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that
battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill.
You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do
not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you
do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you
get on your pleasures.”
Motives are either selfish or
selfless. You hold the answer and
control the output. People cannot just
pull heroism out of the hat or out of their sleeve. It’s not a magical formula and not something
one can prepare to do every time circumstances arise requiring you to act. When encountering the hero in you or in
someone you know always ask what the motive was or is. Love is the essence of heroism I would
suggest. Perfect love casts out fear
according to Scripture. When fear is
gone, the heroic can surface. For the
Christian being an instrument of God is not heroic but expected. For the one receiving the heroic action, thankfulness
is not enough thanks. The true hero
gives the glory to God and deflects anything that is selfish in motive. The selfish demand attention, recognition and
are expecting a community parade in their honor. The selfless point to God and disappear back
into the life as they are expected to live.
Should we accept the Bible as the Word of
God, we also need to accept our lives to belong to him. That means he can work his will through
us. Our openness to the will of God gives
us that clarity in times where the heroic is necessary to just do the act. No thought of the degree of danger or
potential for injury even enters the event.
We just act. Nothing more and
nothing less. We don’t ask that the
media be called or the event to be filmed on someone’s camera. The event seems spontaneous and out of the
ordinary to the Christian. Paul exhorts
us to be ready to give account of that which we believe. That means we can do whatever God wishes
whenever he wishes and however he wishes.
Many a man, woman and child have lost their lives on the mission field
while others have been spared. Do you
ask God to continually be present in everything you do wherever you do it so
that you are ready to make God the hero?
God is never demanding. Being demanding is contrary to his
nature. There are always expectations in
our lives from all directions. The
expectations God places in front of us are never anything we cannot bear. Quite the opposite. God knows us intimately and knows what we are
and are not capable of performing. God
does not place “a demand” for us to be a hero as part of the job
description. Rather, because we love God
(the real hero) we are ready to do what he wants. The Christian is not looking for heroic deeds
to do but is ready to enter into heroic moments with no thought for self. Taking this one step further we, as
Christians, do not place demands upon others to be heroes. My wife expects me to love, cherish and
protect her. My kids expect me to love,
cherish and protect them. My friends
expect me to love, cherish and protect them.
Though I have failed to do this from time to time, it seems those heroic
moments come, and I have risen to the occasion.
God sees all his children as heroes waiting to happen. When the moment arises, he will provide the
insight, knowledge and wherewithal to do what he wants.
I’d like to dispel some issues in our
world today regarding heroes. The first
issue is who the hero is within society.
Many people present themselves as a “champion” to the people or to
certain ideals. Being a champion is a
noble desire. Being a champion is not
necessarily heroic. The element of
“spontaneous” is not generally associated with being a champion. However, it is associated with being a
“hero.” Anyone can become a hero should
the occasion arise. Champions present
themselves as the solution to another persons’ dilemma. When they do so, the motive is not
necessarily unselfish. Whereby the
hero’s action and motive are more than likely unselfish. The following example may help in
distinguishing the difference between being heroic and being a champion. The Apostle Paul, once converted, never once
referred to himself as a hero. In fact,
he would have been offended if anyone called him a hero. Paul did what God wanted without thought of
himself. That still doesn’t make him a
hero. What Paul did in bringing Christ
to people and groups where he lives and beyond was to champion the cause of
Christ that all might be saved. Paul, in
his life, surrendered himself to God in such a way that God was able to work
through him in many ways including the miraculous. He, through the Holy Spirit, penned letters
to many in the Bible and provided guidance to Christian even to those who are
Christian today. That still does not
make Paul a hero. What happened to him
on the road to Damascus was the heroic.
Paul answered Gods call without reserve.
He knew the cost from the world but no longer cared. His conversion and call were answered in a
heroic way.
I hope you understand that your “coming to Jesus” or “being
saved” is not an ordinary everyday occurrence.
Giving your life to God is heroic because of the cost. Putting the old man to death and becoming a
living child of God is a very heroic event.
Without this precept in place we could be champions but would more than
likely not rise to the hero status.
Unfortunately, few count the cost of becoming a child of God. A lot of people have that “saved” moment in
life and then go back to what they were and what they know as familiar. An understanding of what salvation means is necessary
for the new believer. To take the heroic
step, we need to know what it was that Christ did for us. Perhaps you have accepted Jesus as your
Savior and are in the position of deciding where to go and what to do with your
decision. This is a fascinating moment
in time for the new believer. Making the
decision to surrender all to God brings a new life upon the new believer. Being born again, the slate is wiped clean
and we can step aside and let the Holy Spirit direct our lives. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is part of
that moment. The Holy Spirit has several
functions in our Christian lives. Most
importantly we need to become familiar with the voice of God as the Spirit talk
with us. When that voice comes we need
to simply say, “Here I am Lord, your servant listens.” Then do whatever he wants when he wants and
how he wants without question. The
miracle of Salvation becomes the focus of the heroic as we do just that.
God wants us to keep
our lives in proper perspective. That’s
why the Bible is written, and we have it in our lives today. God wants us to know what the definition of a
Christian is and what a Christian is to do and not do. First and foremost, God wants us to know that
he is not demanding. His love is not
demanding. He cannot be demanding and be
true to his Spirit and the Word. So, he
offers us the deal of a lifetime. His
life in exchange for ours. Should we
accept this exchange we will be able to say with Paul that “it is no longer I
who live but Christ who lives within me.”
Sold out! Not only would you not
turn back but you will never turn back.
Once having given your life to Jesus you cannot become unsaved. The heroic has taken place and you are
empowered by the Holy Spirit. Listening
to His voice and doing what he says is every day and anything but
ordinary. When God speaks, you listen
and obey. When you listen, and obey God
moves you through the heroic. Being
undemanding is heroic. Far more
apprehension has been experienced with positive outcomes.
Are you heroic? Have
you taken the step to be heroic? Are you
empowered by the Holy Spirit to be heroic?
If the answer is “Yes”, then nothing you do will seem to be heroic to
you but will be, to the glory of God. When
you look through the Bible for stories of those believers who are heroic notice
what began the process. They surrendered
their lives and Jesus was able to live in and through them. The Christian isn’t driven by keeping a list
of commands. The Christian is driven by
the desires God has placed upon their hearts.
All of us can be the instrument of the heroic moments around us. The heroic moment is that single moment when
we choose to let go and to do what God says.
The heroic takes place before the first words or actions emanate from
us. The stage for the heroic has been
set by God and then executed for all mankind to see the glory of the loving God
he is. You, if you are a believer, are
already heroic; you just need to let it out.
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