A HERO… It seems
that we all need a person in our life to hold up as the ideal; a person we
admire for various reasons; someone we strive to emulate. A HERO,
when measured against his/her peers, stands head and shoulders above everyone,
even if only in your estimation. Sometimes
we set a person up as a HERO in our
mind for reasons that may not be shared with our friends, family or anyone in
our circle, but to us they perfectly fit the definition.
Ask someone to name their HERO and you might be surprised at some of the answers. We give HERO
status to the famous, the rich, Hollywood actors and actresses, singers and musicians,
sports stars, police officers, firefighters, military warriors, teachers, preachers,
moms, dads, husbands and wives, for a mixed bag of reasons; some deserving and
others questionable. So what makes a HERO?
Let me tell you about mine.
My HERO is a man
of high character, faithfulness, honesty, kindness and love. In a world of selfishness, situational
ethics, sinking morality and hedonism, he stands head and shoulders above those
surrounding him. You guessed it…my HERO is my husband, Steve.
FAITHFULNESS and
COMMITMENT. At the age of 12, Steve
committed his life to Jesus Christ, was baptized and filled with the Holy
Spirit. At times he has been knocked
down by those he trusted, stumbled and had to pick himself up a time or
two. You see HEROS are NOT PERFECT
but they ARE FAITHFUL to the
commitments they make and HEROS are
the ones who pick themselves up and keep moving forward no matter how many
times they get knocked down.
At the age of 18, Steve stood at an altar and declared his commitment to me. He promised to be faithful, to love and honor me until death. For 40 years he has never wavered from that commitment. Yes, HEROS remain faithful when others break promises. They choose to love and honor those commitments when temptations present other options. They make a covenant with their eyes and purposely look away because they are FAITHFUL.
HIGH CHARACTER AND
HONESTY. A HERO ceases to be, once his character comes into question. Once he makes a decision to set character
aside and follow desires, convenience or the crowd, all the other hero
ingredients are of no value. A loss of
character nullifies faithfulness, commitment, honesty and trust and the
pedestal crumbles. I have watched my HERO say NO when yes would have been easier and seemingly more
beneficial. Several years ago, he lost a
congregation and many friends and opportunities because he would not compromise
his character by signing a Ministry Agreement by which he could not honestly
live. He refused to find loop holes or
justification for noncompliance because Steve is a man of high character and
honesty. A HERO DOES THE HARD THING
BECAUSE IT IS THE RIGHT THING!!!
HUMBLE. A HERO
is not self-promoting. He doesn’t stand
on a pedestal of his own making and would probably consider it a stumbling
block to be avoided. He would be shocked
to realize that anyone considered him a hero or that he has accomplished
anything worthy of hero status. He gets
up every morning and does the right thing, not for recognition or accolades but
because he loves others more than himself and just because IT IS THE RIGHT THING! I
have watched my HERO stand invisible
in a crowded room, ignored and overlooked for position or honor because he
refused to “blow his own horn.” I
have seen him give of himself, sacrificially, with no expectation of anything
in return; sometimes not even a thank you; because HEROS ARE HUMBLE.
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