Most of us, perhaps all of us, have had heroes as we were growing up. We may even have some today. We probably should. Since no one of us is the best of the best in any aspect of life, since there is always someone better at whatever it is we admire and our proud of in ourselves, since we can always be and do better, it is important that we not only recognize and acknowledge our shortcomings but that we also hold up those who are better than we are.
That does not make these heroes of ours gods in any way, shape or form. They are just as fallible as we are, just as prone to failure, just as in need of their own heroes, and, in other words, just as human as we are. No one, no matter how accomplished, how revered, how held in respect and awe, is without imperfection. There is no one of us who does not have a skeleton or three in his or her closet.
There is one area of life in which we are all equals and that is the fact, the truth, the indisputable truth, that we are all sinners. Some may be greater sinners than others. Some are greater sinners than others. That is obvious. Some of my distant relatives had no compunction when it came to taking another person’s life – and in cold blood, no less. My sins pale in comparison.
Even so, the fact that I am a better person than say a Great Uncle Giuseppe is neither reason to brag or feel proud, nor does it let me off the hook for my own sins. Unfortunately, if you are like me, the temptation is to cut myself some slack, sometimes a lot of slack, just because I not only deem but know myself to be better morally than someone else. The truth is, I often do.
Even more, when I do come to grips with my own failings and shortcomings and admit that I am not as good and as holy as I want to think I am or want others to think about me, this does not allow me to gloat when someone I have held up as a paragon of virtue comes tumbling down to earth. Such thoughts are not only unbecoming they are also a source of false pride. Whenever I take the tiger by the tail, I soon discover that tail is attached to me.
No one truly likes to see a personal hero fail or fall. The fall is never in isolation because too many innocent people are caught in the mess, often those the fallen hero loves the most. Yet, sadly, it happens regularly. When it does, what we need to do, what we must do, what is certainly the Christian thing to do, is not gloat over that person’s downfall but to realize and reflect that there, but for the grace of God, or simply dumb luck, go I.
Whenever the skeleton in another’s closet, especially that of one of our heroes, is exposed, it should give us pause. It gives us the time and the opportunity not only to pray for that person and all who have been and will continue to be hurt. More importantly, it will allow us to reflect on our own lives in order to contemplate our own skeletons and pray not only that they remain locked up but that we will so live our lives from now on so that we do not add any more to that already almost-full closet.