On Pedestals
Pedestals are for statues, not people.
Once we elevate a person to an admired status, we can inadvertently rob them of the rough edges that make up the human experience. Once pedestalized (there's a new word for your toolbox), we can turn a fully-human, fully-flawed person into someone unapproachable and above questions. Then, when we inevitably discover some uncomfortable truth about the person, much or all of their work and impact is diminished, and in turn, our faith is dented or destroyed. Trainloads of believers have been scarred by folks once perched on a pedestal.
We also too easily drop into the comparison-game mindset where we measure our worth against our heroes. I recall back in my school days playing that worthless game. Basically, this was an evaluation of how I stacked up against the others who traveled in the same direction.
Subtly, I asked questions like: Who is smarter or better looking or more athletic. And then when we found our faith, these comparison games continued just with changed labels: Who is more spiritual, or why do I struggle and they don’t seem to, or why don’t I do better with my faith walk like so-and-so? Sometimes I still catch myself doing it, and it doesn't match who I know I am in Jesus.
All of this kind of thinking is silly. Each person does battle with their own weaknesses and addictions and humanity. The tendency to raise others up too high or to push them down so we might look better makes people into cardboard cutouts and does nothing but breed envy or discontent.
Elizabeth Elliot made a fine point along these lines. Her first husband was killed in 1956 by native tribesmen in Ecuador as he and Nate Saint were attempting to bring the gospel to a remote culture. Later in 1969, she would marry Addison Leitch. By the early 1970s, Leitch was a professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he was a popular teacher among the students. However, he would die late in 1973 due to a return of cancer he had thought was beaten.
Leitch continued to teach to near his end and was brutally honest with his students, not holding back the whole range of emotions he felt. Some were put off by his not being stalwart enough to face death with a large measure of spiritually stoic resolve. At his memorial service, Elliot-Leitch took the moment to scold the students for dehumanizing and depersonalizing their professors. She reminded them that they’re not immune to suffering just like any other, and should be treated like fellow members of the body of Christ, warts and all.
That, friends, is a good word for any of us. Those among us who seem to be all put together, or a preaching pastor, or like Leitch, a respected instructor can find themselves trapped on a pedestal’s precarious platform. From that spot it is a small step to living a lie, like the Wizard behind the curtain in Oz, living in fear of discovery.
It is healthy to recall that the biblical heroes lived checkered lives.
Moses and David were murderers,
Peter a cowardly denier of Jesus,
Paul a religious persecutor,
and Mark a deserter.
Next Sunday, as you look around your church, understand that every person you see (including the ones up front) hold secrets they hope you never find out about. But that is all of us. You and I are, and at the same time are not yet, what we shall be. Churches and faith-based home groups are best when we recognize weakness and how that can magnify the grace and works of Jesus in anyone's life. We stand reconciled to God, not as a result of a good-enough life, but by the love and work of a good God who sees in every one of his followers the beauty and perfection of Jesus.
So…how about we cut each other some slack and instead of either lionizing someone, or criticizing their failures, we do what the bible directs us to do and “encourage each other as long as today is called today.” Life is too short to waste time doing anything other than pursuing our love for God and finding ways to love others. Enough of pedestals. As the old line says, “The ground is level at the cross.”
And some music for the week...a trip around europe
...and a couple of funnies for the week
A businessman had a tiring day on the road. He checked into a hotel and, because he was concerned that the restaurant might close soon, left his luggage at the front desk and went immediately to eat.
After a leisurely dinner, he reclaimed his luggage and realized that he had forgotten his room number.
He went back to the desk and told the clerk on duty, "My name is Henry Davis, can you please tell me what room I am in?"
"Certainly," said the clerk. "You're in the lobby."
__________
Mrs. Pete Jones came into the newsroom to pay for her husband's obituary.
She was told by the kindly newsman that it was a dollar a word and he remembered Pete, and wasn't it too bad about him passing away.
She thanked him for his kind words and bemoaned the fact that she only had two dollars. But she wrote out the obituary, "Pete died."
The newsman said he thought Old Pete deserved more and he'd give her three more words.
Mrs. Pete Jones thanked him and rewrote the obituary: "Pete died. Boat for sale."