WHY OUR IDOLS FALL

We live in a culture that celebrates gifting, whether or not that talent comes with an equal measure of character to temper it. So we elevate people onto lofty pedestals, and then act surprised when our idols fall. Gifting is a cheap substitute for character. And the fame we give our idols is often more of a curse than a blessing. It’s like handing car keys to a child who has never learned to drive. Not only are we endangering their lives, but the lives of everyone else around them.

Take note that the wisdom literature of scripture, particularly the book of Proverbs, encourages us to grow in wisdom and character, rather than gifting or fame.

So why do we keep setting our most gifted up for failure? In part, it’s because our culture has historically celebrated results, regardless of the carnage left along the road to greatness. We tend to idolize people for their accomplishments without stopping to ask whether this person is the kind of role model we’d want our kids to emulate. And what we celebrate becomes the norm. The things we elevate and the stories we share will inevitably shape the values of the next generation.

So we are reaping what we’ve sown. We have celebrated gifting over character. We have turned fame into a worthy endeavor, and then act surprised when people willingly behave badly in order to garner more attention.

Perhaps we should stop elevating people on account of their talents and start celebrating character over accomplishment. Maybe we should stop looking to our movie stars and sports stars and reality stars to be our culture’s influencers, and instead look to the men and women of deep character to influence us, those who don’t trumpet their own accomplishments but who serve quietly in the background. Perhaps our true stars should be the sort of people who place goodness above greatness. 

Of course, we don’t hear their voices often, because they’re not the ones reaching for the mic or seeking the closest camera lens. But we would do well to consider their example and stop placing talented people on unstable pedestals. Because when they fall, we all lose.

Joy Comes in the Mourning

Yesterday, we laid my friend Josh to rest. Our family has known him for almost 2-decades and the news of his passing from a heart attack last month came as a complete shock. After all, he was in the prime of his life and left behind a wife and two young sons.

There were plenty of tears shed at his memorial service, but I was surprised that the sorrow of his untimely death was overshadowed by very different emotions: hope and joy. This is because just three months before his heart gave out, Josh had entrusted it to Jesus. After years of relying on his own strength to fight his battles, Josh had come to the end of himself and recognized how desperately he needed a savior. And these are the words he wrote in his journal on that day:

Today I decided to stop playing God.

It didn’t work.

I decided that here after in this drama of life,

God was going to be my director.

He is my principal. I am his agent.

He is my Father and I am his child.

10/03/2020

It might seem cruel of God to take someone so shortly after they’d placed their faith in Him. But I see God’s grace in the timing. Because Josh had been relying on his own strength for a long, long time, and God allowed him just enough time to get to the end of his rope and recognize that he really did need a savior. And Josh’s faith in Jesus didn’t just change his life for those three short months. It radically altered his eternal life. In comparison to that, the lives we lead now are a drop of water next to the ocean of eternity.

So we grieve Josh’s unexpected death, but we don’t grieve as those who have no hope. Josh’s trust in Jesus tempers our grief, because we know that this isn’t goodbye. At most this is a temporary separation. And I look forward to seeing my friend again.

That said, if you’re reading this and you are still trying to navigate life in this broken world by your own strength, then know that I am praying for you as well. And while the content of my prayer might seem odd, know that it’s motivated by love:

I pray that you would reach the end of your rope quickly. I pray that you would recognize, as Josh did, that you are not equipped to be self-sufficient. The truth is, you were never intended to do life on your own. Our heavenly Father made you to do life with Him, and you will remain restless until you allow yourself to rest in Him. You will remain unfulfilled until you find your fulfillment in Him. So I pray that you would stop running, stop striving, stop trying to hold your world together and entrust all that you hold most dearly into the hands of the One who formed you and who holds the world together. Because He loves you and He’s not far off. You can always find Him at the end of your rope.