{"id":32112,"date":"2022-09-10T15:56:49","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:56:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/4-biblical-truths-about-heroism\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:56:49","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:56:49","slug":"4-biblical-truths-about-heroism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/4-biblical-truths-about-heroism\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Biblical Truths About Heroism"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TK Hammonds photo – Unsplash<\/div>\n

By Aaron Wilson<\/em><\/p>\n

Superheroes may have outlandish abilities in the comics and movies, but their greatest power in the real world seems to involve driving ticket sales.<\/p>\n

From Aquaman to the X-men, superheroes have an uncanny effect on the box office. Of the 100 highest-grossing movies of all time, more than a quarter of them are superhero themed, according to Box Office Mojo.<\/p>\n

The economic sway of superheroes will be on display again this weekend as theaters unveil Avengers: Endgame<\/em>\u2014the climatic ending of a 22-movie saga that\u2019s spanned more than a decade. Even before opening, the film shattered presale records.<\/p>\n

Facts & Trends<\/em> recently sat down with Bill Delvaux, author of Heroic: The Surprising Path to True Manhood<\/em>, to ask why heroic themes register with such fervor. Here are four truths he notes about why we\u2019re fascinated with the heroic.<\/p>\n

1. Humans are hardwired for heroism.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cThe heroic is an imprint that\u2019s been left inside all of us because we\u2019re made in the image of God,\u201d Delvaux says. \u201cEven though that imprint has been marred by the fall, there\u2019s something that remains. We know what\u2019s good, right, and true, but we also know we don\u2019t live up to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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This longing can lead people to apply heroic archetypes to figures in politics, sports, social media, professional life, and even within the family. It can also cause people to look internally for a picture of heroism as in the case of the self-made man or woman.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe need to experience the heroic has been left as a compass showing us what\u2019s good and true.\u201d Delvaux says. \u201cWe\u2019re looking for that and we want to be that.\u201d<\/p>\n

But whether people look to receive or achieve the heroic in this world, they\u2019re destined to be frustrated at some point, he says.<\/p>\n

2. Without exception, all earthly heroes disappoint.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Delvaux says all heroes in this world will eventually let people down. He believes this often puts people at a crossroads with what to do with failed expectations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can be good, but it can also lead people to bitterness,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s like love. Even with our mate, love is always going to disappoint us in some way.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can use that [the disappointment of an earthly hero] to drive you deeper to the Lord or you become embittered, angry, disappointed, and shut down,\u201d Delvaux says. \u201cUltimately, it can lead us to Jesus, the one Hero who will not disappoint.\u201d<\/p>\n

This same principle also applies to people looking to achieve legacies in their own strength.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore we can really understand the gospel, all of our self-constructed heroic journeys at some point have to crash and burn,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The tension of longing for the heroic while also tasting the sting of disappointment feeds superhero popularity. Because characters like Captain America and Superman are imaginary, their epic storylines can whet moviegoers\u2019 appetite for greatness while never disappointing like real-life heroes do.<\/p>\n

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Still, tales of imaginary heroes often point to the grand narrative of Scripture\u2014a story driven by sacrifice, death, and resurrection.<\/p>\n

3. The path to heroism always leads to death.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cWe all have our envisioned outcomes of how our lives are going to turn out,\u201d Delvaux says. \u201cWe long for glory we don\u2019t have.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll that has to go [in this life]; it has to be toppled,\u201d he says, drawing imagery from Matthew 16:25 which begins, \u201cwhoever wants to save his life will lose it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Epic stories\u2014especially modern ones driven by superheroes\u2014rely heavily on this archetype, leading heroes and heroines to dangers where they must choose to sacrifice their preferences and even their lives to accept their calling.<\/p>\n

This of course, points to Christ and the crux of His mission\u2014His sacrifice on Calvary in submission to His Father\u2019s will. It also points to the calling for all who seek to follow Christ and embrace His heroic command to take up one\u2019s cross daily (Matthew 16:21).<\/p>\n

Because of the universal popularity of heroic stories, Delvaux says people have been prepared to accept this theme of dying to self.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe surprise comes,\u201d he says, \u201cwhen we realized, \u2018Oh, I have to experience this. I have to walk this path.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

4. We must rescue a biblically informed definition of heroism.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In a hunger to embrace the heroic, people can sometimes mistakenly apply the label to common feats and, in some cases, even sinful activities and attitudes. The latter can be seen in people taking public stands in the name of bravery for sinful activity God has clearly forbid in His Word.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny word of moral structure can be twisted to the whims of where society goes,\u201d Delvaux says. \u201cYou can spin the word heroism to embody anything as long as you plant an evil force as the enemy and you plant some kind of courage to face and defeat it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can bend words until they\u2019re trite and meaningless,\u201d he continues. \u201cA much more full-bodied definition of heroism is someone whose life is spent offering what he has to those around him so that they flourish even when it costs that person suffering, pain, and death.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a definition projected in comics and movies, but meant for real life.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always for somebody else; it\u2019s never for the hero,\u201d Delvaux says. \u201cThat\u2019s the definition we all rise up to.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more on what the Bible says about heroism, check out Delvaux\u2019s book,\u00a0Heroic: The Surprising Path to True Manhood<\/em>, available now.<\/p>\n

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Aaron Wilson<\/h2>\n

@AaronBWilson26<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Aaron is associate editor of LifewayResearch.com.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n