Chapter 5

When you think back on your childhood, is there one person whom you looked up to and wanted to emulate? Maybe it was a police officer, teacher, professional sports player or parent. Maybe there was a group of individuals: military personnel, firefighters, the Dallas Cowboys team. For each of us, there was at least one person that we respected and honored. Someone we admired. Simply stated, admiration is respect and honor from one person to another.

There are many people who deserve our admiration for different reasons. We may admire someone like Mother Theresa for her devotion and holiness; Martin Luther King, Jr. for his courage and message; or the director of your local soup kitchen for his charity and love. We may also admire people for their physical characteristics and abilities, such as star athletes, beautiful men and women, sinuous dancers or talented musicians. Sometimes we admire the positions which people have attained, such as the president of the United States , the queen of England or the pope of the Holy Catholic Church. There are many reasons we can admire someone; however, it is important that we make certain they are the right reasons.

We should admire people that Jesus would admire. That is true admiration. Admiration that comes from a pure heart, without selfishness, jealousy or pettiness. We can admire the very wealthy for their money but in doing so, we are admitting our own envy. If we admire the beautiful people, we are acknowledging our pettiness. When we admire movie stars and musical divas, we are revealing our own narrow-mindedness. Money, physical beauty and the adoration of many fans are only temporary qualities. Psalms 49:16-19 advises us, Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; for when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him. Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself. He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.

Eventually, the rich man dies and another receives his wealth; physical beauty fades with age; and, fans find someone else to follow. The rich patron, the beautiful model and the fabulous star are usually forgotten in the continuum of time. On the other side of time, eternity, we will discover that their wealth, beauty and stature will not get them into Heaven. The things that we, as a society, thought were so important, become shallow and empty. However, if we choose to honor those things which truly are admirable, we will find that they will stand the test of time and the judgment of eternity.

Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.^{^[1]}

And he [Jesus] said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.^{^[2]}

When properly given, admiration is a wonderful thing. It allows us to recognize those qualities and substances that we wish to have. It gives us an example to follow. For instance, many professional sports players when they were children admired other sports stars. They wanted to become like that football, basketball or hockey star so they practiced and practiced to become one. This brings us to something we should always remember: we tend to become like those we admire; therefore, we should choose our heroes very carefully.

Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.^{^[3]}

We should always honestly view people and recognize their fallacies and weaknesses, as well as their strengths. No one is perfect - even our heroes. We all have strengths and weaknesses, whether we and others want to admit them.

It is worse to have a fallen hero than to have never admired anyone. Because, once we recognize that our hero is not as wonderful and perfect as we initially imagined, we can easily become hurt, bitter and angry. It is also harder for us to recognize the good qualities in other people who deserve our admiration. Remember, people placed on pedestals above others are destined to fall.

Each of us would like to believe that we are admirable, that there is something in us that is worth honoring. Some of us demand admiration from our children, employees or church members. But true admiration is earned, not demanded. Psalms 27:2 admonishes us, Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.

Mother Theresa did not demand the Nobel Peace Prize; she earned it. What is the difference? Plenty. Certainly the day that she received the coveted award, God and Heaven’s multitudes were smiling down upon her in sweet agreement. Surely the greatest recognition that she has received came after her honorable life and will last through eternity. She truly epitomized Philippians 2:3-8:

Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

^{^[1]}Jude 8 & 16

^{^[2]}Luke 16:15

^{^[3]}Psalms 62:9

© Copyright 1998 by Synthia Robinson-Pack. All rights reserved. The author gives permission to reproduce this article in its entirety only and for complimentary use only and distribute to friends, family members and others. Proper credit must be given to the writer and/or copyright holder.