The Danger of Meeting Your Hero
The Danger of Meeting Your Hero!\
Dr. Vince Hefner, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Cherryville, NC
I have always heard that it is not a good idea to meet your hero. The reason is they might disappoint you with their vocabulary, dress or actions. To my knowledge I have never met a “real famous” person. I have met some people who thought they were famous and I pretended to be impressed, but I did not ask for an autograph or some jewel of wisdom. I figured that my hypocrisy should only go so far in humoring them. However, I did meet a professional wrestler once in the Hardee’s restaurant in Columbus, North Carolina. It was on a Sunday morning right after church services. I had not been a Christian for long but I had everything that I felt I needed to be a preacher. I had bought a gray, polyester, three-piece pinstripe suit from Sears. It was the only suit that I owned and I was very proud of it. If I was going to preach I would wear the vest, but if I was going to listen I dressed casual and left the vest at home! My mother had given me a black leather bound Scofield Reference Bible as a Christmas gift that I have till this day. I had also purchased a nice Paper-Mate pen to use only on Sundays.
Back to the story. I realize that some of you may think professional wrestlers are not celebrities. When I was a kid I watched wrestling twice on Saturday’s and imitated their talk and moves with the other neighborhood kids. Back then the wrestlers were either “good guys” or “bad guys.” The man in Hardee’s was a “bad guy,” but he was still famous. He was Gene Anderson, half of the tag-team “The Minnesota Wrecking Crew.” He and his brother, Ollie, were always beating up on the “good guys” with foreign objects and illegal tactics. To win in wrestling you must either pin the shoulders of your opponent for a 1-2-3 count, or make them submit by giving up. The Minnesota Wrecking Crew made their opponents submit, which was the most humiliating way to get beat. Ollie did most of the talking while Gene stood back and sneered at the camera, just waiting to put a whipping on the next victim.
When I saw Gene eating in the restaurant he had another wrestler with him, “The Great Kabuki.” He was a new guy in the sport and had not reached the “Star” status. I rushed up to their table, pulled out my new Paper-Mate pen and asked Gene Anderson for his autograph. Without saying a word, he reached for my pen, scribbled his name on a napkin, handed the napkin to me, and stuck my pen in his shirt pocket. What? He kept my pen? Folks, he didn’t steal it, he took it in broad daylight while eating a big deluxe and fries as the Great Kabuki was smiling at me! I had just left church in my new 3-piece gray pinstriped suit, and I was standing in the middle of Hardee’s holding a napkin with someone’s name on it while that someone had “my” pen in his shirt pocket. Do you want to know what I wanted to do to half of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew and the Great Kabuki? Do you want to know what I actually did concerning the Paper-Mate pen? That following Monday morning I went and bought a new Paper-Mate pen and never asked anyone else for his autograph!
Who do you look up to and why? Since different people have different interests it is not important whether the person is an athlete, an entertainer or your next door neighbor. A hero should be a person who has characteristics that you would like to have. Psalm 1:1-2 says, “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” This Scripture tells you how to pick a hero and how to be a hero! Give God your best. Don’t give in to sin. Think about it!