A thought:
Every time we really look into the lives of our heroes, one truth emerges--they are imperfect. Whether they're athletes, musicians, religious leaders, or even Bible characters, our leaders all share the fact that they are human, and, accordingly, they were flawed (except Jesus, of course). They all have character weaknesses that went along with their character strengths. They have sins with which they struggle.
This is actually a good thing. Mentors and heroes that are perfect are much less useful to us. We need to have real people to look up to, not illusions of grandeur.
There is a common issue, however, that I've noticed results when we discover our heroes' flaws and sins. We tend to excuse our own sins. We see that even great men/women were sinners, and so we allow ourselves to copy their sins. "It can be that bad," we think, "after all, so and so did it." Our heroes, instead of lifting us up, then grant us license to sink down.
Instead of license to sin, these flaws should motivate us to rise above such flaws. David's sins were recorded, not so that we could copy him, but so that we could avoid similar behavior.
We should be humbled by the fact that great men have fallen. Seeing righteous men and women sin should not soothe our consciences, but should put us on guard. If men so mightily used of God and sanctified by Him could sin, even a man after God's own heart or the meekest man on earth, then certainly you and I can and will fall. This should inspire us to guard our hearts, eyes, mouths, etc.
In the end, it is a good thing to look up to others who have been successful and faithful. It is a good thing to draw courage and faith from how God worked in their lives. We must, however, use this history in the right way. We must not condone our own sin by remembering theirs. We must use their struggles with sin as ammunition in our own spiritual battles.
Every time we really look into the lives of our heroes, one truth emerges--they are imperfect. Whether they're athletes, musicians, religious leaders, or even Bible characters, our leaders all share the fact that they are human, and, accordingly, they were flawed (except Jesus, of course). They all have character weaknesses that went along with their character strengths. They have sins with which they struggle.
This is actually a good thing. Mentors and heroes that are perfect are much less useful to us. We need to have real people to look up to, not illusions of grandeur.
There is a common issue, however, that I've noticed results when we discover our heroes' flaws and sins. We tend to excuse our own sins. We see that even great men/women were sinners, and so we allow ourselves to copy their sins. "It can be that bad," we think, "after all, so and so did it." Our heroes, instead of lifting us up, then grant us license to sink down.
Instead of license to sin, these flaws should motivate us to rise above such flaws. David's sins were recorded, not so that we could copy him, but so that we could avoid similar behavior.
We should be humbled by the fact that great men have fallen. Seeing righteous men and women sin should not soothe our consciences, but should put us on guard. If men so mightily used of God and sanctified by Him could sin, even a man after God's own heart or the meekest man on earth, then certainly you and I can and will fall. This should inspire us to guard our hearts, eyes, mouths, etc.
In the end, it is a good thing to look up to others who have been successful and faithful. It is a good thing to draw courage and faith from how God worked in their lives. We must, however, use this history in the right way. We must not condone our own sin by remembering theirs. We must use their struggles with sin as ammunition in our own spiritual battles.
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