We live in a world where people virtually worship rock stars, sports legends, political giants or other kind of heroes. Some of these individuals deserve our esteem. Some are role models who inspire us to be like them. Some achieve great things that benefit humanity, like saving lives, curing diseases, ending wars, or making the ultimate sacrifice. 

But all these people have one thing in common: they are human. As wonderful as they may be, they are flawed, because there are no perfect people. That means they are capable of making devastating mistakes, moral failures and embarrassing choices. Sometimes their flaws remain secret, not discovered until someone writes a tell-all book after their death. Other times, the blunders end up on the front page of the newspaper or as a never-ending topic on cable news. As Don Henley’s “Dirty Laundry” song about the evening news says, “People love it when you lose, they love dirty laundry.” 

It’s easy to become disappointed when someone we respect, admire and even love falls from the pedestal. In most cases, they didn’t ask to be on the pedestal; we put them there. It’s human nature to have idols, and not just “American Idols.” 

We become particularly harsh when a religious leader turns out to be not-so-holy after all. When it was discovered that a famous religious author had concealed his sexual misconduct with massage therapists, there was a massive pile-on around the world. Stores stopped selling his books, talk show hosts crucified him on air, other ministers condemned him. His fall from the pedestal was great, indeed. But he wasn’t a saint; he was a mere mortal. What he did was wrong, reprehensible and even disgusting, but that still doesn’t make us any better than him.

Many years ago, I had a mentor who had a profound influence on my life. I looked up to him and respected him as one of the most intellectually gifted people I know. And then he fell. My surprise turned into shock and eventually into righteous indignation. But then I remembered, “there but for the grace of God go I.” I wasn’t morally superior to this man I put on a pedestal, so who was I to judge? And if we’re honest with ourselves, we all fall down one way or another.

Maybe you’ve put someone on a pedestal who let you down. Maybe you still have someone on a pedestal. It might be a family member or a total stranger. My advice is the same: knock ‘em off. Even the best of people have feet of clay, and the sooner we realize that they are not little gods, the better for them and us.

Besides, there’s only one star of the show – God. He alone – not humans – is worthy of our highest esteem, veneration, respect, and yes, worship. And there’s only room for Him on the pedestal. As Psalm 146:3 says, “Don’t look to men for help; their greatest leaders fail.”  Instead, “It is better to trust the Lord than to put confidence in men.” (Psalm 118:8)

Who’s on your pedestal? Maybe it’s time to show them the floor.