My composition teacher gave us the assignment to write about what we think is a hero. Here is my response:
What Is A Hero?
What is a hero? Is it a firefighter who rescues a child from a burning building? Is it a football player who scores the winning touchdown? Or is it an Oscar winning actress? We hear the word "hero" being tossed around frequently through stories, movies and the news, but what does a "hero" really mean? Most people have their own definition of a hero, but how do we know which one is right? A hero is a role model whom people respect and love because of his humility, his will to honor others before himself, and because he is an upholder of convention.
Webster defines humility as a
modest or low view of one’s own importance. The character traits “humility” and “love” go together and
are demonstrated well through the missionaries Jim and Elizabeth Elliot. Jim Elliot risked his life so that the Auca tribe could hear the Gospel message. A couple years after they came, the tribe killed him along with his friends. Jim Elliot humbled himself for the sake of the souls of the Indians and Elizabeth Elliot, his widowed
wife, returned to the tribe full of love and compassion to see Jim’s mission carried out. She risked her life to help save the souls of the Indian tribe that took her husband’s
life. She converted the tribe who killed her husband to Christianity and humbled
herself in God’s service to show love and humility.
Another great
example of humility is displayed through my grandmother, Joyce, who shows love
to her family. For both the Elliots and
my grandmother, their love was unconditional, but they showed it in different
ways. Joyce never had a chance to preach to people like the
Elliots did, but she loved her family because she was first loved by God. She
barely made ends meet after her divorce, but no one ever heard a complaint
stray from her mouth. When she
remarried, her husband was not a Christian.
Near his death, she read the book “Ultimate Questions” to her husband five
times before he finally accepted Christ as his Savior. Two months later, he entered the gates of
heaven. She never gave up on him and
persevered through his hard heartedness.
Being a good role model to one’s family and loving them with all your
heart is just as important as what the Elliot’s did. They
took up leadership roles and they were respected because of their humility and
love.
Perseverance is another
quality all heroes possess. If
you do not have perseverance you will never have the drive to do anything
hard. Perseverance is steadfastness
during hard times and it is the external quality needed to make a hero. Perseverance requires time and patience, but
in the end, grants reward. This quality
is needed when there is a need to act within a split second. The decision to risk your life for others: the decision to jump on a grenade two seconds
before it explodes and kills all the troops; the decision to push a child out
of the streets, getting hit by a car instead; or the decision to take the blame
for something you did not do. These are
not times that require perseverance immediately. People who act at the right time persevere
because they would not have done it without persevering in their
lives before
that moment came. Practicing it in the
past prepares these people for that moment that will change lives for the
better.
Samwise Gamgee,
the hobbit from the fictional trilogy “The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien
is a great example of a man who perseveres through a long and dangerous
journey. Although he is not a typical hero
because of one circumstance in which he acted at the right time, he perseveres throughout
the entire story. His steadfastness is a
great role model for Frodo, his peer and companion, and encouraged him to never
give up even in the darkest hour of the book, “The Return of the King.” His positive attitude and urge to succeed made
him a hero. “Full of darkness and
danger, they were. Those were the
stories that stayed with you. Folks in
those stories had lots of chances to turn back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding onto something” (Tolkien
919). This attitude reflected Sam’s journey, and he never looked back. Heroes do not have to be strong physically,
but they have to be strong mentally. As
Stephens noted, “I came to understand that Frodo and Sam were heroes for
undertaking the quest in the first place.
They had a choice. They carried
it throughout the two movies and that makes them heroes” (Stephens 1).
Can a person act like a hero
in one area of his life but have so many flaws in other areas? Since we are all sinners, the answer is
yes. I believe that there are definitely
heroes in the world, but doing something extraordinary isn’t enough to be a
hero. In the Bible James states, “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is
not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:17). Abraham in the Bible is an example of
someone who had faith and works. He had faith in God, and was also willing to
act on his faith to the point of sacrificing his son in order to be obedient to
God. If one is not willing to act on faith, God
sees that faith as dead. Whether someone is known for one extraordinary action
or is faithful with ordinary actions, they are both putting faith into works.
In conclusion, I believe that a hero needs humility and perseverance, not just when the time is right, but in his daily life. He needs to be a good example, someone people will remember and never forget. Even if it is just one person whose life is changed by a hero's deed, that person has been impacted for the better. Humility and love are the internal qualities and being an upholder of convention is the external manifestation of a hero. Or course, a hero needs to show love and humility, but needs to first believe what he is trying to accomplish in his heart. "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." -Jim Elliot
In conclusion, I believe that a hero needs humility and perseverance, not just when the time is right, but in his daily life. He needs to be a good example, someone people will remember and never forget. Even if it is just one person whose life is changed by a hero's deed, that person has been impacted for the better. Humility and love are the internal qualities and being an upholder of convention is the external manifestation of a hero. Or course, a hero needs to show love and humility, but needs to first believe what he is trying to accomplish in his heart. "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." -Jim Elliot
lol!!!!!
