What would you do if you were given the opportunity to have a conversation with the people you have looked up to at different seasons of your life? What would you say to them? What ideas, opinions, or advice would you ask them to share with you? Do you think you’d feel nervous talking to them?
Many of you know that I used to be a radio announcer for WRGN, a Christian radio station in northeast Pennsylvania. While I was working at the station, I used to have the opportunity to host in-studio and on-air interviews regularly. It’s been a while since I worked there, but in this season of my life, I have become heavily involved with podcasting which is like hosting your own radio show that people can access on demand from their smartphone or computer.
In the years since I started recording my shows, they have grown from tens, to hundreds, to thousands, to millions of downloads. It’s hard for me to fathom this because I know how simple my production setup is. I have a good microphone, a laptop computer, and a quiet office in my basement. That’s it.
Now that the audience for my shows has grown, I have been presented with a new opportunity. Well-known people have expressed interest in being interviewed, which puts me in a unique position. I now have the opportunity to speak directly to some of the people who I have either admired from afar, or who have had a measurable influence in my life. Later this week, I’ll be speaking with the lead singer of a band I have been listening to for over 30 years. I’ve also been speaking with notable authors and athletes. It’s hard to wrap my mind around it because I have been looking up to many of these people for quite some time.
So, if you were presented with a similar opportunity, who would you want to talk to? Who do you personally look up to? Who is worthy of your admiration? Proverbs 24 does a great job of helping us see that we need to be cautious about who we admire.
I. We all have people we admire
In Proverbs 24, Solomon speaks about the people we’re all tempted to admire and envy. He gives us examples of wise men and evil men, and I’m certain we can all think of personal examples in our own lives that fall into one of those two categories.
During the course of your life, who have you admired? Some of the people on my list include; family, friends, pastors, authors, musicians, athletes, historical leaders, and many of the men and women whose stories are referenced in Scripture. Some of the biblical examples I have looked up to include Joseph, Daniel, Paul and Priscilla.
I love watching the hand of God at work in Joseph’s life, and Joseph’s willingness to walk through the doors the Lord was opening up for him. When I read about Daniel’s life, I see a man who possessed great integrity even though he lived in a land that tried its hardest to steer him away from following the Lord. When I read about Paul’s life, I see someone who was willing to be the pioneer who took the arrows and made the sacrifices necessary in order to lay a strong foundation for those who came after him. In Priscilla, I see a woman who was willing to walk by faith and invest her knowledge of the Scriptures in up-and-coming church leaders.
I don’t think it’s wrong to admire others, just as long as we’re careful about who we’re admiring while remaining cautious not to idolize the examples we gravitate toward. To help us not to idolize some of the people mentioned in Scripture, the Lord made a point to show us many of their struggles and failings. I believe His aim in doing that was to make it clear that there was only one perfect man, the God-man, Jesus Christ.
A wise man is full of strength,
and a man of knowledge enhances his might,for by wise guidance you can wage your war,
and in abundance of counselors there is victory. (Proverbs 24:5-6)
I wonder who Solomon admired? I’m sure he admired his father David. He probably also admired other people in his kingdom as well, and among them, it’s clear that Solomon respected those who carried themselves with wisdom. These were people who understood that the essence of wisdom is to correctly apply biblical counsel to the experiences in their life.
Solomon tells us that a wise man is full of strength. He tells us that the might of a man of knowledge grows. He makes it clear that when we surround ourselves with godly counselors, we will experience victory.
We all have people we admire, but isn’t it best to admire those who steer us toward the Lord instead of away from Him? Those who model their faith through how they choose to live?
II. You will model your life after the influences you admire
Be not envious of evil men,
nor desire to be with them,for their hearts devise violence,
and their lips talk of trouble. (Proverbs 24:1-2)
The opening verses of Proverbs 24 give us a stern word of caution. Solomon encourages us not to envy those who are known for practicing evil. He also cautions us about spending our time surrounded by them. Why do you suppose he gives the reader these cautions?
We’re all looking for examples. We all want someone to show us how to do what we’re looking to do. Being shown how to do something is one of the fastest ways to learn something new.
I was trying to learn a new piece of software for my computer last week, and instead of trying to figure it all out on my own, I watched a 25 minute video that demonstrated all the features to me. It was a short-cut that helped me immensely.
In a related way, the people we’re observing are modeling the short-cut to their way of life. If you want to take the short-cut to a godless life, then let your heart envy those who are consumed with evil. But if you can see evil for the destructive force it really is, let the Holy Spirit direct the affections of your heart because He will point you to Jesus.
Keep in mind that we’re also highly influenced by those we spend the most time with. Solomon tells us not to desire to be with those who embrace evil and have given their lives over to practicing it because the influences we surround ourselves with have a major impact on the flavor our life eventually takes on.
Have you ever taken the time to examine pictures of historical leaders during the early 1800’s? One curious pattern that many of them adopted was the pattern of placing their hand across their chest and partially tucking it into the front of their coat when they were being photographed or posing for a portrait. Why did they do that? Where did they pick up that habit? How did that become a trend?
That was a habit that was picked up from Napoleon. Since he often posed with his hand positioned like that, those who feared and admired him did the exact same thing all throughout the world.
"Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." (1 Corinthians 11:1)
How comfortable would you be if you found out someone was imitating your life and your faith?
When Paul was in the process of planting churches and training leaders in the early church, he encouraged them to copy him. That’s a brave statement to make because what if you’re doing something that isn’t wise to copy? What if someone starts making life decisions based on your example and that leads them down a destructive path?
Paul was aware of his limitations, frailties, and the fact that he was still a work in progress himself. That’s why he made it clear to the church in Corinth to imitate or copy him as he imitated Christ.
Paul was trying to show us that Christ is the ultimate example we all need to be following.
III. Jesus is worthy of our admiration
"For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps." (1 Peter 2:21)
When I was in college, I saw something that I’ll never forget. It was common for families to visit the college to determine whether or not it was the best option for their children. We would frequently see guests on campus and they would often ask us for help finding certain buildings and locations.
One afternoon while I was walking between buildings, I saw a family of about 6 or 7 people. The father was leading the group through campus, but he wasn’t saying a word. Every one of his children followed him, single file, in height order, wherever he went. If he walked to the right, they went to the right. If he dipped left, the line moved to the left. Part of me was impressed with that level of discipline, but another part was confused because that’s not a very common sight to see.
Jesus is worthy of our admiration, and Scripture admonishes us to follow in His steps. As He spoke, we speak. As He acted, we act. As He obeyed the will of the Father, we obey. Christ suffered for us here on earth so we could experience His eternal glory forever. He endured scorn, shame, pain, and death so we could be granted new life through faith in Him. And He doesn’t want this new life He secured for us to be “kind-of new life.” He paid too steep a price for us to do anything less than follow Him with every fiber of our being.
If our hearts are going to be filled with admiration for anyone, Christ is the one who is ultimately worthy to receive that attention and affection.
As Jesus was obedient to the will of the Father, so too should we be.
As Jesus spoke confrontationally to the self-righteous, and compassionately to the discouraged, so too should we.
As Jesus was willing to give of Himself for the greater good of those He loved, so too should we.
As Jesus chose to love the most unlovable people of His day, so too should we.
In the end, it’s really only Jesus who is worthy of our deepest admiration. The examples we admire on this earth should be those who have given themselves to reflecting His loving heart.
Have we given ourselves to reflecting Him? Have our lives become a reflection of the heart of Jesus?
© John Stange, 2021
