Never meet your heroes

So, the saying goes....

“Never meet your heroes.” So, the saying goes.

The gift of human leaders must never become the idol of hero-worship.

You become like what you worship. We must repent of hero worship if we would have life eternally. Not a single human has life in himself besides the resurrected man from Nazareth, Jesus.

You worship Jesus, you will become like Him! You worship anyone else; you will find they can’t keep themselves alive let alone keep you alive.

Hero worship is a plague of the human heart. The sin of idolatry cloaks itself in learning, loyalty, admiration, and attention.

God uses leadership powerfully. Paul calls younger Christians to imitate him and to follow him as He follows Christ. I don’t doubt the power of leadership. I believe leadership is deeply powerful. That’s why I want you to be aware of how that power impacts you.

The power of leadership must be stewarded by leaders, but it also must be stewarded by learners.

 Hebrews 13:7 says,

⁷ Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.

It is wise for you to take time to observe how your spiritual mentors live. It is good for you to see the fruit and trajectory of your teacher’s life. It is admirable to imitate the faithful.  

In a sin cursed world full of yet-to-be-glorified saints and relentless temptations from Satan, we must be careful how much stock we put in any leader.

Our faith must be rooted in the ever-faithful Jesus. That’s why Hebrews 13:8 (the verse immediately after 13:7) says,

⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

The tragedy of deconstruction is a product of mistakes by leaders and learners.  

Leaders have misused their authority and elevated themselves. When self-exalting leaders injure others or fall from their heights the people clinging to them lose the roots of their faith.

Learners who drink the celebrity culture and hero worship of our day bear responsibility for their error as well. Building your life on sand is not an innocent mistake–it’s a tragic error. Building your life around anyone who isn’t named Jesus of Nazareth will not withstand the rain.

Disciples who are rooted in Christ are thankful for His fruit they see in His servants. They do not leave the root when a servant produces bad fruit.

You can find heroes across the spectrum of the church with gross sexual sin in their story–Johnny Hunt, Bill Hybels, Ravi Zacharias, Karl Barth, and Martin Luther King Jr. to name a few. (Immorality is not trivial, it’s a hallmark of God’s enemies but that’s for another day.)

A leader’s failure should not shake our faith but fix our roots. We sink our roots deep in the One who was faithful to the end.

Jesus Christ is the only One in whom we abide.

“Never meet your heroes.” So, the saying goes but I’m very excited to meet my Hero when He comes in glory!

Jesus Over Everything!