Dangers of Hero Worship

The story of Oscar Pistorius, better known as "Blade Runner", is the most recent example of a fallen athlete who was regarded in very high esteem.  Lance Armstrong, Michael Vick, and Tiger Woods are other examples, and they remind us that all humans have feet of clay.  We should be very careful about who we "look up" to, and what exactly we "look up" to in them.  A person who masters an athletic ability may be morally depraved or spiritually immature.  Mastery in any endeavor is praiseworthy, but we must look only to Jesus as the supreme Hero of our souls and the foremost guide of character and virtue.  Only those fellow humans who, by God's grace, are able to attain high levels of Christlikeness are worthy of our emulation; and even then we must ever be prepared for their fall. We should pray for their [and our own] deliverance from evil. 
This protection from hero-worship is especially crucial for our children. Powerful media presents many contemporary "heroes" to our children. Actors and musicians as well as athletes can easily and unknowingly become objects of youthful idolatry. Just today I heard a man on American Family Radio [sorry, I can't remember his name] state that, before his conversion to Christ, he was an aspiring drummer who hero-worshipped a number of rock bands. He attributes this hero-worship to his being led into intravenous drug addiction, since so many of his heroes were drug users. He emulated not only their musical abilities, but also their behaviors. I hope we will teach our children and young people the difference between admiring or emulating certain abilities of people who have mastered those abilities, and allowing those people to have an idolatrous impact on our lives. Jesus is our only true Guide as far as virtue and righteous living are concerned. And if we or our children are not focused on Him in that capacity, someone else is likely to fill the vacuum.  It is dangerous to focus on anything or anyone other than Jesus as our supreme Hero.  No one loves us like Him. And He alone can lead us safely to our Father, and into heaven.