Why are we so captivated by heroes?
It seems like hero lust is quite pervasive in our culture, isn't it? From comic books to fairy tales to action movies, we have an insatiable appetite for consuming heroes of all kinds. From perfect heroes like Superman to unlikely heroes like Shrek, we live for those moments when the guy gets the girl, when the world is saved from impending destruction, or when the impossible actually becomes possible... at least until the sequel or next episode.
It takes a while, but if we stick around long enough and if we ingest enough hero rhetoric, this cycle of wash, rinse, repeat champion-ism starts to seem-- what's the word?
Fake.
Don't get me wrong, heroes and champions can inspire us in the moment but they exist like a flash of lightening. Everyone sees their grand display and hears their thunderous voice, but then just as fast as they came, they're gone.
Why?
"'Champions never show weakness.' He didn’t say, 'Champions have no weakness.' He said champions never show weakness."
This is a quote from mY Generation by Josh Riebock and I was hooked the moment I read that line!
Champions aren't real. They can't be. Every real person I know has a weakness and it shows. How many times have we seen this to be true? The moment that we begin to elevate someone to a hero-like status in our lives, they let us down. This has happened to me. How about you?
"Then they aren't hiding their weakness very well are they?" you might retort. You'd be right, but then why would we want to follow and idolize something fake?
The chapter "Death to Champions" from mY Generation by Josh Riebock deals with that exact issue. In fact, the subtitle to this chapter is "Stripping Down to Real Living."
I like that. After all, champions are people, people who hide their real selves behind a facade of "I've-got-it-all-together."
Josh confronts our culture's love affair with these facade champions by issuing the following challenge:
"To hide is to die. So without being real, without authenticity, there is no healing.
"Healing comes through transparent, intimate relationships, both with God and others. It comes through sharing weakness, through confessing sin and laying all our cards on the table in accountability. It comes as we make ourselves vulnerable enough to receive support in the place we need it most. Authenticity is something that we all need, but it’s also something that we can seldom create in someone else."
Wow.
I gotta be honest that I have experienced that and seen it modeled both poorly and well. Growing up in "church world" I saw so many people that dressed correctly, shook the right hands, said the right words, and knew all the right things to say with all the right answers. The only problem? They never gave the real answers.
"How ya doin' Bill?"
"Just fine Frank. How about you?"
"Oh you know, every day brings another blessing!" ((plastic smile))
"I know what ya mean Frank. Good to see you!" ((forced awkward handshake))
Behind the pleasantries, Bill's marriage was falling apart and his daughter had tried to run away from home. Bill was a mess. Meanwhile, Frank's occupation was consuming him and he was slowly dying to the alcohol he was consuming with startling regularity. Frank was screaming for help.
The chapter continues...
"Maybe, in order to bring real in someone else, we have to be real... authenticity gives others permission to be in process, to admit they need to grow."
Josh then dives deep into his own journey from the fake to the real with such raw emotion that I couldn't help but feel his pain. With the prose of a seasoned author, Josh begins to unwrap his darkest moments and peel back the layers of his heart and, after a rather tense encounter with the real Josh, he sidesteps the seriousness for a moment with a tongue-in-cheek but very real statement, "Too bad fakeness isn’t a spiritual gift. If it were, I’d be in high demand."
As Josh begins to bring us into the new, real version of himself, he comments:
"My tireless reluctance to live authentically was greatly weakened, and the more I offered the real me and clung to a real God, the more others were able to take hold of him too, and as they did, I saw God bring change."
This chapter was like looking into a mirror of my own soul and asking the hard questions of my own internal champion. Where was I fake? How could I embrace more authenticity and transparency in my own life?
mY Generation is not just a call to real, authentic living but an honest memoir from Josh's own journey of life, loss and Faith. Everyone, no matter where they are in their Faith walk, should read this book. Whether you are new to faith or just checking faith out; whether you are a professional Christian or just a really spiritual person... I would highly recommend mY Generation.
You can purchase the book at Amazon here: http://bit.ly/9LtRqN.
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composed by
dave
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