Is there a real hero in the house?
This past week we celebrated Veterans Day, and I always associate that, of course, with heroes. We all have heroes in our lives, I hope. My dad was my hero up till the day he died, Thanksgiving Friday, in my home, 24 years ago. But the first person I called the day he died was a man I greatly looked up to—Colonel Logan Weston. This man came to our camp each summer to speak to the campers and staff, and each time, it was like “Iron Man” had come to camp. Photographs, autographs, standing ovations, etc. He was a hero. He served in WWII, Korea and Vietnam.
He would come to our dining hall wearing his full military uniform with a chest full of medals. One camper asked if these were really all his medals, and he poured out on a table of other medals and said, “No, these are all my medals”. He was rumored to have been the most decorated military man in our history if you include the medals that foreign governments also gave him.
He died May 5, 2003. I was honored to conduct his funeral. The man was a “man’s man”, a patriot, a devout believer, a passionate father and dedicated husband. He was my friend and he believed in me and my work when I felt like no else did. He was always careful and uplifting with his words to me and helped me trust more in God and my own abilities. I still miss the man.
He lived by these verses:
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:1-14, NIV
We need hero’s today for our young people. Young men and women today are challenged by the same things that youth have been challenged for 1000s of years:
Sex
Materialism
Self destruction
Breaking the law—-and family and community mores and rules
Ignoring instruction and advice
———-but not like before. It’s different today.
When I was young, my brother and I would sneak into Marty’s tree house and look at National Geographic showing native women in the Amazon—and each time feel a bit ashamed for doing it. As a teenager, some of my friends would sneak a cigarette, and occasionally you’d hear about high school seniors bringing beer at a party. But things ARE different today friends.
These five vices I mentioned earlier are celebrated in our media, Saturday night live, twitter, Facebook, youtube, commercials, and even in our education system. Try to think of one modern day hero for our kids to look to that is truly a role model of modesty, self-control, and a humble life. Mr. Rogers is gone -- so are Roy Rogers and Dale Evans (and their horses Trigger and Bullit)!
Previous generations were isolated or insulated from knowing just how far one could go with sex or materialism or lawlessness, but youth now have at their finger tips with the:
Internet
iPhones
Legalized drugs
Liberal laws on kids rights
Rotten role models.
And for every one of us telling them that something is “wrong”, there are 10,000 tweets telling them it’s “their right”—- “go ahead, everybody does it”! And what’s worse, kids think that because they read some factoid on the internet that it must be true! The internet contains dishonesty and deception. It’s frequently wrong and its addictive and opens up the wrong doors at times.
Paul’s answer to the young Christian, and to you and me, about how to get your head clear of sins is simple, really:
-Set your hearts on things above—-remember that we’re just passing through. This is not the end of all that life has to offer.
-Set your minds on things above—not earthly desires—-i.e. keep your thoughts in Jesus. He will keep you at peace if you are dwelling on Him. Try it!
-PUT TO DEATH: (And I think that “put to death” really means——HATE!
sexual immorality
impurity