Role Models

National Botanical Gardens, Washington, D.C.  Copyright 2012: singeronthesand

There is an opportune time to do things,

a right time for everything on the earth:

A right time to shut up and another to speak up... 

Ecclesiastes 3:1, 7b

It's a deeply ingrained human attribute to look for role models.

-When the Hero Falls [CNN] 

Nathan DeWall, a psychology professor at the University of Kentucky, believes that "Humans have a fundamental need to connect with other people.  We like to choose people who inspire us to become better versions of ourselves."  The problem with role models in general, however, is that they are human, and at some point, they inevitably fail.  Tiger Woods, Bernie Madoff, John Edwards, Joe Paterno - these are just a tiny handful of individuals who were enthroned on a pedestal for one reason or another, only to unexpectedly come crashing to the ground.

When you place another human being in a worshipful position, you give them a power over the way you think and the way you react.  To elevate an individual just because of their athleticism, their money, their political power or their coaching ability is to set oneself up for disappointment and discouragement when that hero is shown to be a common, flawed individual.  Living your life through the worship of someone's over-the-top experience and success deprives you of expanding your own abilities and character.

In this fall start of football season, much is being written about Penn State, who is fielding the first team since 1966 without Paterno as head coach.  Paterno's fall from the pedestal began when he found himself incapable of speaking up when faced with the knowledge of a crime perpetrated by one of his staff.  Although he himself had become a larger-than-life hero with many, many wonderful qualities, he knew that a man's status could change at the drop of a hat.  In a 1973 Penn State commencement address, Paterno warned, "Don't underestimate the world.  It can corrupt quickly and completely."  Unfortunately, he failed to listen to his own advice.

We are all in this human life experience together, and I can no more be a role model for you than you can be one for me. Perhaps it is time to teach our children to admire our heroes, and save our worship for the One who will never, ever fail us.