Human Heroes Often Disappoint Us

Most of us have had heroes in our lives - those that we look up to that provide stability and certainty in life. Some of those heroes are people that we know personally and have developed deep admiration for because of the consistent lifestyle that we see them living day after day. Others are distant heroes - those that we see, but we do not know; those that appear to be solid and great examples of fulfilled lives, but we are not close enough to really discern. Heroes are important to have and add such hope and consistency in our lives. But there is a danger in placing too much hope and faith in our heroes. They are all human (with the exception of the Lord, Jesus, who IS our Ultimate Hero) and as human they are frail and they often fail.

I had several heroes in my young life. Beside my mom and dad that provided such a wonderful childhood and positive example of married life, I greatly admired Sam Huff, middle linebacker for the West Virginia Mountaineers and later the New York Giants. He provided the bravado of a macho All-American with a hard work ethic and star qualities. Then there was Jerry West (can you tell I grew up in West Virginia?). Mr. Clutch, number 44, was the perfect example of a star with class; of a humble gentleman on and off the court. As a young boy I shook Jerry's hand and refused to wash it for two weeks. I am sure that both of these mighty men were human, made tons of mistakes, and if I knew the details of their lives, I might be very disappointed. But as a young boy they stood head and shoulders above my attempts to live life.

Four other young men entered my life that changed me during my teen years. Although I never met them they shaped so much of my young thinking. I always saw them as fun loving, moral, conservative inspirations. Because of my naivete I failed to miss so many of their obvious flaws. John, Paul, George, and Ringo came into my living room via the Ed Sullivan Show and flipped the switch of my creativity. They sparked in me a love for music, a relevant message of young love, and a special way to communicate. I loved their music and owned every album they made. However, when the Beatles called it quits, I stopped following their music as solo acts. Paul and Wings, John and Ono, George and Krishna, Ringo and his All-Starr Band went on their roads of success without my loyal support. I became a Christian in the early 70s and much of their music ran in a different philosophical circle, thus losing its appeal to my spirit.

Just recently I read a biography of John Lennon (an interesting book written by Cynthia, his first wife and mother of Julian), one of Paul McCartney (Paul McCartney: A Life by Peter Ames Carlin), and I finished this week a biography of George (Marc Shapiro's Behind Sad Eyes: The Life of George Harrison). My first plan was to read the life story of each of the fab four before comments on my blog. Having read the first three, I doubt if I am going to spend any more time reading about Ringo. With each of the readings, I have become more disillusioned with my heroes. I knew that there were drugs involved in their Sgt. Pepper days and the Indian religion attracted their minds for a while, but I had no idea how disappointing their early years would be for me. The cool lads from Liverpool were not what they appeared to be.

My mother was born in London and so the British invasion was welcomed with open arms in my house. Mom, my sister, and I all raved about the mop-tops from across the ocean. I really can't remember my dad's response, but he certainly wasn't negative. I Want to Hold Your Hand, She Loves You, Yea, Yea, Yea, and I Saw Her Standing There seemed so innocent and clean. The beat was crisp, the words were almost pure, and the melodies so catchy. But the lives behind the music were sad indeed, filled with the decadence of Hamburg, the anger of rebellion, and boredom of fame. Beatlemania led to heavy drug use, immorality, failed marriages, and desperation to find meaning in life.

John's abandonment of his wife and child, first by leaving them behind while living the life of a pop star and then literally for Yoko, left me feeling so betrayed by my favorite Beatle. Paul, who seemed to have his moments of tenderness and compassion was also obsessed with being in control. Why the Beatles disbanded is a complex question with complex answers, but I think that Paul may have caused the biggest wedges between the comrades. George didn't want the fame, was bored with the plastic nature of Beatlemania, and found himself so buried in drugs, alcohol, and sex that he never really found his way out. His religion seemed to fail to answer his deepest questions. Marc Shapiro summarized George's ideology with George's own words, "For every human is a quest to find the answer to 'Why are we here? Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?' That, to me, became the only important thing in my life. Everything else is secondary." There is no indication in what I read about George that he truly found the answers to any of those questions.

Instead of majoring on the disappointments of my fab four heroes, let me conclude by sharing a reminder to me of a lesson learned long ago. Don't put your faith and reliance on any person. Men and women, no matter how great, will fail your expectations, because we are all human and we all fall short of God's glory. Sin has gripped us all and in our frailties, we all stumble. Human heroes will disappoint us. Make sure that the pedestal we place our heroes on is not so tall that we will be surprised when they fall.

Let's honor those in our lives that impact us with love, forgiveness, and kindness. Let's admire those who run the race with integrity and zeal. Let's emulate the strong of faith and consistent in life. But let's remember that they struggle with the human nature just like all of us. Strive to be a hero yourself; live a life worthy of the calling that God has upon your life; leave behind a set of footprints that can and should be followed.

Hebrews 12:2-3 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition form sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Sam Huff photo found at http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.aspx?PLAYER_ID=102