Heroes. Why do we have heroes? Because we need people to look up to. People who communicate a sense of right and wrong that seems... right.

Nowadays, teenagers have many heroes. We have heroes all the way from Justin Beiber to Abraham Lincoln.

What makes a hero a hero? Is it their clothes, their personality, their character, their attitude, their worldview, their voice, or their looks?

No one really considers another person that weird, nowadays, when their hero is Lady Gaga.

Then why is it weird for my hero to be J. Gresham Machen? (Presbyterian minister from the 20th century.) Robert E. Lee? My dad, who is “just” a pastor? My mom, who is raising me and my five siblings the very best she can?

It used to be shocking if a young person held someone besides Saint Paul as their hero and role model. Now it’s weird if my hero is Saint Paul.

What happened?

Did we just become less stiff and self-righteous? Did we lose our sense of right and wrong? Are we just... more diversified?

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying we should go back to having only Saint Paul and Jesus as our role models. While they should be, I think there’s plenty of room for other people we admire.

Ah. There we are! Admire. Why do we admire people? Let me define “admire”.

Admire: Esteem, approve of, respect, think highly of, rate highly, hold in high regard, applaud, praise, commend, acclaim.

Usually, when you admire somebody, that means you would like to be like them. Not always, but many times, that’s the way it is.

Then why is it weird for me to want to be like Saint Paul, a very good man, and it’s perfectly normal for someone else to want to be like Brittany Spears? (Though I sincerely hope there aren’t many of those out there who would wish to be like her.)

This isn’t an article bashing Brittany Spears, Lady Gaga, or anyone like that, whatever my opinions on them may be.

This article just arouses the question: Why are your heroes your heroes?