Devotion - Thursday, February 11

A couple of replies to yesterday’s devotion prompted me to remember a topic I write on often, but bears repeating. Remember that I wrote of Jacob’s lying to his father in order to obtain the blessing which was intended for his older brother. I asked how a lie could figure so heavily in to the process which leads to the naming of Jacob among The Patriarchs of Israel’s history.

This story helps remind us of the difference between being a hero and doing the heroic thing.

Heroes are perfect. Heroes are ideal. Heroes hardly ever occur. It is tough to be perfect. Even Jesus rejects the suggestion that he is “perfect.” He says, “Why do you call me perfect? There is but One who is perfect.” Heroes are rare, if they ever occur. But many persons will do the heroic thing. When faced with an opportunity or a challenge, they will step to the front and do that which needs to be done.

Keeping this lesson in mind is instructive to us and to our own lives. It the goal is to “be a hero,” we will always see ourselves as wanting. Who among us is so blind to our own dark thoughts and actions as to believe we are a “hero”? But many of us – all of us – can look to those moments in our lives when we were courageous enough to do the right thing. We can recall the moment when our actions resulted in a greater good. We did the heroic thing.

God does not ask us to be heroes; God’s hope is that we will do the heroic thing. God lifts up Jacob, and so many other wonderful characters, so that we might understand this. God would prefer that we not put ourselves through the turmoil of pretending to be perfect; God hopes that we will live in the moment and do the right thing.