Defining a Hero

“How would you define a hero? Choose one hero in your life and explain why he/ she deserves this title.” This was the question I posed to my thirty-six seventh- and eighth-grade English students. They had just read the first few chapters of Howard Pyle’s The Story of King Arthur and His Knights, a book that is filled with heroic deeds as knights battle evil lords, the strong King Arthur defends the weak in the land, and, of course, the lovely damsel in distress is rescued from marriage to a wicked man by King Arthur himself, becoming the queen of all Britain. What could be more heroic than those actions, right? How would these middle schoolers respond?

As I graded their papers this last week, their responses were an important reminder for me. While some appropriately wrote of Christ, and just a few wrote about people who had made great discoveries in areas of concern to them (like gymnastics), the great majority of my students wrote of people that were in their day-to-day lives – moms, dads, Sunday School teachers, youth pastors, neighbors, former teachers. They didn’t define a hero as someone who was well known because he or she had accomplished something great, or even as someone who had triumphed over experiences the average person never encounters. No, their definitions sounded more like this, “A hero is someone who is willing to give up his own desires for someone else, even if the cost is high.” Several wrote of dads who worked hard to provide for their families and then came home and spent time with their kids even when they were tired. Others told about their moms who took care of them through what we would consider menial housework (cooking, cleaning, laundry) without complaining, and who showed real care and interest when talking to and listening to their teens. One told of a youth leader who poured into the middle schoolers in his church, who was always there for them if ever they needed anything. Another wrote of a Sunday School teacher who had helped her through a really difficult time in her life. These, in the eyes of middle schoolers, are the real heroes.

I don’t think my students are off the mark either. As a matter of fact, I think they’re right on it. As I shared with them this last week after grading their papers, God’s view of greatness is found in Jesus’ words in Matthew 20: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (verses 25-28). The people my middle schoolers had listed as heroes were those who served, and my students had been the grateful recipients of that service.

That leaves me to wonder… What about me? What about you? Are we heroes in someone’s eyes? These middle schoolers may never have told the people they wrote about how they viewed them, but those faithful servants have made an impact in lives, whether they know it or not. Am I investing my life in others? Am I pouring my time and energy out in service? Are you?

-- Amy O’Rear