You Can Be A Hero To A Child

Heroes.

We all use this word to laud those whom we admire for their virtue, their integrity, their courage, and their convictions. A TV network has a yearly show that is devoted to recognizing those whom the public most votes for as the ones considered heroes. We link this word with certain groups of people. We tie this word with military troops, veterans, firefighters and police officers, those whose occupations put them in positions where they may have to risk their lives to save the lives of others. More and more, ordinary citizens come to the attention of the media when they do lifesaving acts for others. We hear their stories, maybe wondering what we would have done in their place.

I remember when Amanda Berry, Gina Dejesus, and Michelle Knight were rescued. Charles Ramsey, who freed Berry to call authorities and get her little girl out, has been hailed as a hero. Since then, Berry's little girl, who alerted her mom to a way to leave that house of horrors, is now being hailed as a hero also, according to more recent stories. That bookkeeper, Antionette Tuff, who risked her life and prevented a potential gunman from shooting anyone at her school, is being recognized as a hero. All of us, whatever our walk of life or value systems, of course, properly admire and praise these individuals. And we should. Yet I do not think God wants or needs us, as citizens or human beings, to depend on certain groups of people or select individuals, to develop the virtue of courage, the practice of putting others' needs before our wants, even at personal expense. After all, this is what the all time greatest Hero, Jesus, did for each of us, when He died to set us free from the power and penalty of sin.

Many, maybe most of us will never find ourselves in situations where we will find a house where women are being hid downstairs and chained, as Berry, Dejesus, and Knight were for a decade. We are unlikely to be confronted with a person with a gun, who can kill us or others around us. Yes, the sad possibility is always here in a fallen world, that we can at any time be in a position to be a Charles Ramsey or an Antionette Tuff. But God will not hold us accountable for opportunities that we never had, to exhibit qualities that He wants to see in our lives. But all of us can still put others' needs before ours, even at our own expense. We can save lives. You no doubt know about child sponsorship and that countless children, families and communities around the world face absolute poverty and great need. You may feel overwhelmed and wonder what can you do? Well, I have good news for you.

You have no doubt seen TV or Internet ads by many child sponsorship nonprofits. All promise to provide sponsored children with food, clothing, shelter, and maybe education. So how does Compassion International stand out from the rest? Whether we are Christians or not, this nonprofit should appeal to us because Compassion is an openly Christian nonprofit as they offer those children they serve personalized spiritual care. No, they do not require the children, families and communities they serve are never required to be Christian or to become Christians. They just work to get rid of material poverty and spiritual poverty through meeting the total needs of children and families. And they have many more children waiting for sponsors who will commit money and time to save them from great poverty. They, their families, and communities are looking for heroes.

Will you be a hero?

Each of these images are courtesy of Compassion International.

What Is A Hero?

          Hero. We hear this word tossed around frequently. We may even use it ourselves. Of course, to wear this label is an honor; is's always better to wear a label to live "up to" than to wear labels to "live down" and which stigmatizes and denigrates us. But have we seriously wondered what a hero is? The US government has their own ideas whose heroism merits the Congressional Medal of Honor, which is usually awarded to veterans. As I understand it, the Congressional Medal of Honor is awarded to someone whose act(s) of heroism 1) extends far beyond the call of duty, 2) entails tremendous personal risk/and or sacrifice on the part of the heroic person, for others, and 3) is an act(s) for which the person would not be criticized if not performed; as by defintion the act is not an obligation but freely chosen without heed of repercussions to one's self.
          Today, our military troops and veterans are usually recognized as heroes, often being called "war heroes." Also hailed as heroes are law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians or paramedics. And deservedly so. All these people perform acts that place their lives on the line and benefit society by securing our freedom and safety. They usually freely choose these walks of life; no one is telling them what to do. And many even donate their time to do these things, as in the case of volunteer firefighters and military troops. Would any of them be criticized for leaving their chosen walks of life? Hardly.
          I'm sure most of us TV viewers are aware of the annual "CNN Heroes" program, and there are many other media venues which bestow honors, often cash, on those whom they recognize as heroes. For example, kidnap survivor Elizabeth Smart has been honored formally, at least twice, as a hero. Once, PEOPLE magazine bestowed the honor on her by featuring her as one of the "heroes of the year" and last year, another venue recognized her as a hero, awarding Elizabeth $50,000 to fund her activist work. And many informally call her a hero. True, this young woman has survived horrific circumstances during her nine-month ordeal and has no doubt struggled much in her transition from victim to survivor. She is using her past traumas to benefit others; thus she wears the hero label. Temple Grandin, who has an IQ in the gifted range, has become hugely famous and successful and no doubt is the best-known highest-functioning autistic person who is living today and has risen above low expectations and her own personal challenges and differences. She is considered by many, in and out of the autism community, to be a hero who shows us all the odds that one can overcome to be all one can be. She has received many well-deserved honors and awards; she is using her challenges and her past in advocacy for the equal rights not only of autistic people but also of animals. Janice Smolinski, mother of missing Billy Smolinski, has, for the last seven years of her son's disappearance, been a tireless advocate for missing people and their families. She is frequently called a hero and deservedly so. Amidst her own nightmare, she has used social networking and other means to reach out to and show support to other families of missing people. She has worked endless hours to craft the proposed "Billy's Law" which is designed to put in place laws that would more effectively and efficiently find missing people and match many of them with unidentified people. There are many other high-profile examples of those who have  transcended their own adversity for the help of others. But for every high-profile hero, there are many obscure, unsung heroes who are also transcending their adversity and personal odds and challenges or tragedies to help, bless, and advocate for others.
          The term "my hero" is often tossed around to refer to anyone a person admires or even likes. Today, it seems that many well-known people, including celebrities, are considered heroes or role models, as athletes and indeed anyone who appears on TV may. That is, unless a famous or successful person who performed acts considered wrong or criminal, they are often up for the hero label because they are "out there" and possess influence that others look up to. And people coming from backgounds of poverty, disability or abuse often are considered heroes and role models, and deservedly so, when they are able to become wealthy, famous and rise to positions of respect and prestige. I don't begrudge anyone who is able to "go from rages to riches" and "turn the scars into stars." This is what makes free countries like the US so unique, that anyone can come to the US and, if possessing dogged drive and determination and given the right set of opportunities and support, can transcend failure into overwhelming success by the world's definition. This is what our current President, Barak Obama, points out in a TV commercial when he was responding to accusations about his "lack of patriotism." For indeed, this is his story.
          But how accessible is heroism to the rest of us who may never be in the position to save a life by getting into a dramatic, dangerous situation, may lack the ambition, opportunities or support to achieve the worldly sucess that could inspire others or  may not be qualified or be good fits for the positions considered as heroic by definition? If we want a society of courageous people, do we need to rely on people who have lived unually horrific lives, like a Jaycee Dugard or a war hero amputee, like Sen. Max Cleland? Need we rely on those whose walks of life call for dangerous feats to save lives or ensure our freedoms, for our need for a society of courageous people? Is drama required for heroism to come into play? No, I think not, and I don't think a just, fair God will judge us by the lack of opportunities to be heroes, to care enough about people to make great sacrifices for them and to transcend personal adversity through worldly success. In my Bible, I read about people whom Jesus honored but whom I doubt would ever have been considered heroes in their day--a foreign-born, "heathen" woman who prevailed with Him and whom Jesus commended for her faith, a woman who was healed of contant bleeding and whom Jesus also commended for her faith, and a blind man who wanted to see and whom Jesus praised for his faith. Jesus lavished praise on a prostitute who anointed Him with perfume and washed His feet with her tears. He praised her for her faith and love. Rahab, "the harlot" was one of those praised in the Book of Hebrews for her faith in hiding Israelite spies. I can cite many more examples of people praised in Scripture whom God honored but whose courage and faith would not have been noticed by our free culture.
          What does this mean for us? It means that, whatever choices are presented to us, we can all make choices, small and insignificant as these may seem to be in the scheme of things, where we transcend personal odds, tragedy or adversity to bless, help, advocate for and/or to inspire or encourage others. We can be involved in the saving of lives, as we seek to do our part in preventing/ending crime, abuse, suicide, bullying, poverty and other social ills. We can do many things beyond the call of duty just because we want to give back, to "pay it forward" and not because anyone is telling us to or expecting us to do these things.
          Above all, we can all trust ourselves to the greatest Hero of them all, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, Who did the most heroic thing ever performed in human history when He gave His life on a wooden cross for our sins and was raised for this being being raised to life again.

http://worldvision.org/. You can be a hero to a needy child; check this website out.

http://peace4missing.ning.com/. You can be a hero to families of missing people; join this social networking site.

http://talkaboutit.org.ning.com and https://www.facebook.com/#!/talkaboutitfoundation You can be a hero by educating yourself about the stigmatizing medical condition of epilepsy and helping to end the stigma by speaking out about it.

http://www.persecution.com/  You can be a hero to people of faith worldwide, who often suffer severe persecution for their faith; check out this website.

http://avoiceforneli.com/  You can be a hero to one wrongfully convicted, imprisoned young man with autism by checking out this website, educating yourself about him and seeing how you can help.

http://www.missingkids.com/  and http://www.lostnmissing.com/  You can be a hero to missing children and/or adults and their families; check out these websites.

http://www.stopbullying.gov/ You can be a hero to victims of bullying and even help save lives; check out this website.

http://www.childhelp.com/  You can be a hero to helpless children and help to prevent and end child abuse; check out this website.

https://www.facebook.com/800273TALK  and http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/.  You can be a hero to those who are in emotional distress and want to end their lives by educating yourself about suicide and through awareness and advocacy.