East End

5-25-08

Text: Psalm 118: 8, 9

We have an epidemic of hero worship in this country. Whether it be athletes, movie stars, singers, politicians, or whoever. In fact I can remember when I was little; I looked up to Nolan Ryan. In fact it was his movie along with my dad and hard work that helped me develop my curveball. To me Nolan Ryan was the greatest of all time although I know there are many who disagree with me on that. I even think now of Alex Rodriguez, the third baseman for the New York Yankees. Back several years ago he signed a contract that guaranteed him $270 million dollars over 10 years. During that contract he would be traded to the Yankees. The pressure of playing sports in New York seems to be almost unbearable and many players simply can’t live up to the expectations. When the Yankees acquired Rodriguez I can still remember the Yankee fans talking about how they were going to be unstoppable and they would win World Series after World Series. That sentiment didn’t last long. Not because Alex Rodriguez isn’t a great player, but because he couldn’t meet the expectations of the fans. The man that they loved, they were now booing and wanting to get rid of him and calling him over paid (which is an understatement!). He is not the only one though. Many people think about Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmerio, Barry Bonds and recently Roger Clemens. So many young baseball fans looked up to these men and wanted to be just like them but in the past several years we have learned that they used steroids. And the lists keep going on and on. We have even see some preachers in our lifetime be elevated to idol status only to have them fall from grace right before our eyes. Is this entirely their fault? Absolutely not! We have a part in the blame as well because we elevate them to this status. For some reason we forget that they are ordinary people just like us with extraordinary talents. My mind is beginning to turn to the election this year as the country will go to the polls in November to select the next President of the United States. And for many all they want from the next President is to be “better” than the current President. We judge a President as a success or failure by how our lives are going when he comes to office and when he leaves office. We somehow forget that Congress and the Supreme Court has a lot to do with our lives as well. Without Congress there are no laws passed and without the Supreme Court we don’t know if the laws passed are agreeable with our Constitution. The truth of the matter is this, if you put your hope and trust in a man there is one certainty to follow, you will be disappointed. The only person we can ever put our faith, hope, and love in is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only one who will always look out for our best interest, love us no matter what, and always be right there by our side no matter how life is going. In fact He loves us so much that He was willing to die on a cross so that we may have eternal life. Go ask an athlete, movie star, or politician if they can about you that much! Something tells me if the person you look up to is asked this question by you, if you haven’t been disappointed by them as of yet, you will be disappointed by their answer. On the other hand, if you want to be loved, forgiven, and accepted for who you are the only person you need to look up to is Jesus, the author and finisher or our faith. Have a blessed week!