Goodness Precedes Greatness: A Call For New Heroes In Troubled Times

I write songs for a living, which is to say that writing songs helps me to live. The song becomes a place where melody and tempo can cover some truly volatile topics. God, women, politics, sex, hatred, disillusionment- a song or a story can be a deeper vessel and more forgiving than most conversations. Poetry can get under the skin without your permission, and music can offer perspective or hope that might have been hidden before. And so the song becomes a vehicle to cover some serious ground.

These days I have a hard time writing a song that feels bright or hopeful. The unemployment rate is edging up even further and spending is down. Foreclosures are way up and stocks are down. Our headlines are full of war, natural disaster, and corruption. So I go looking for songs of hope and stories that remind me of the incredible privilege of living another day. I suppose I'm looking for a hero of sorts. Someone who rises above the situation and does something incredible.

Remember the guy who threw himself on top of the passenger who had suffered a seizure in the New York Subway? As the train was approaching he jumps down onto the tracks and risks his life to save the life of a complete stranger whose convulsions had thrown him into the path of an oncoming train. Incredible. Have you seen Team Hoyt, the dad who pushes his disabled son through all the marathons? They've even done the Iron Man competitions together as father and son, which makes me tear up. Or the story of Mother Teresa, a woman who gave her life to the less fortunate day after day after day. These are the stories that I want to sing about. These are stories of hope.

Such sacrifice, such patience and such goodness is rare and rightly called heroic. But these are not the heroes of our times. Wesley Autrey is not a household name and neither is Team Hoyt. If you want to know the heroes of our society, follow the money, look at the posters on the wall. We pay them seven digit salaries, we put their songs on our playlists, and follow them on Twitter. These are the heroes we emulate.

Let's face it. Mother Teresa doesn't look that good in a negligee. And Team Hoyt won't sell beer commercials to the networks. But when the ball players and the supermodels end up in rehab, we end up asking esoteric questions about what makes a hero. In the movies the good looking actor who gets the girl is easy to point to. But after he gets the girl, then the house, and then a few kids and then a divorce and then another girl. Then what? After all of the special effects are gone, we're left with an aging mortal who looks a bit awkward on the talk shows. Perhaps we've set our goals too low. Or perhaps we've got it backwards.

I would like to suggest that the best parts of our human nature can be seen in sacrifice or surrender. A mother sacrificing her time for her child, a teacher devoting her afternoons to help students off-the-clock. These are truly our most incredible moments as a species: moments of unmerited kindness. Goodness. Virtue. Nobility. Grace. Morality. These are the truly remarkable moments. Perhaps our current economic climate of debt needs a fresh perspective on worth and value. Maybe our monetary crisis indicates a broader loss of perspective.

We live in the land of plenty, the land of milk and honey, where the lottery of birth has given us the advantage of education, of wealth, and of opportunity. Ammon Hennessy puts it this way, "You came into the world armed to the teeth with... the weapons of privilege." A trip south of the border can be an incredible reminder. We are living in the land of entitlement, one of the wealthiest nations in the history of mankind. And yet, money cannot buy us the true wealth of happiness, or peace, or of a deeper form of a meaningful life.

Perhaps the current climate of uncertainty would be the appropriate time to ask the question: what are we aiming for? Our technological achievements as a species are impressive. Our cities, our advancements in flight and our iPhones are all fairly remarkable. But there is nothing heroic about my cell phone. There is nothing sacrificial about it. Where is the song that's worth singing? What is our measure of success? Renown psychiatrist Viktor E. Frankl says that "success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as a byproduct of one's surrender to a person other than oneself."

Maybe the fix is not the money. Maybe two and a half hours in a theatre isn't enough time for a hero to be born. Maybe it takes a lifetime- a lifetime like John M. Perkins. John Perkins is a man who devoted his life to those around him in simple and profound ways. He was quick to forgive, quick to utilize resources to help those in need. He has been a tireless civil rights worker who has endured beatings, harassments, and even prison for what he believes. With the help of his wife, Vera Mae, and a few others, he founded a health center, leadership development program, thrift store, low-income housing development and training center in his hometown of Mendenhall, Mississippi. His is a story of reconciliation, of forgiveness, of patience. He endured the suffering, holding on to a cause greater than himself.

John Perkins has is a song I want to sing. A song of a great man, the story of a legend. How do you replicate this goodness? Do you monetize it? Do you subsidize it? No. It's bigger than Washington, it's bigger than Wall Street. And it looks better than Hollywood. His is the story of a hero, a song of hope. His is a story that reminds me of a goodness beneath the system. Though Perkins was a devout Christian, he was quick to point out that this goodness is bigger than stale religion. Mr. Perkins once said that "many congregations do nothing but outsource justice." John Perkins said it right- you can't outsource justice. You can't farm out goodness to someone else. Your life is yours alone. Those decisions are yours to make.

I am the system. You are the system. We, the system of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, choose goodness. Yes, the system is flawed. Yes, the church is flawed. Yes, Wall Street and Hollywood Boulevard are all fatally flawed. Yes, there will always be those who take the easy way out. But that ain't your game. Your choice is yours alone. Goodness precedes greatness. Maybe the mother will always have more power than the atomic bomb. Maybe under the skin there is a song of hope and meaning waiting to break free. Or maybe not. It's our story. You and I decide with our actions. It can be as small as simple courtesy. Or get involved in your hometown. Find out what the local food bank looks like. Look up the local Habitat for Humanity. What is the world you want? You choose it with every breath.

In our current climate of fear and debt I am reminded of what I hold most valuable in this life: the human souls closest to me. We need each other. Human beings will always be the most valuable natural resource on the planet. The human story is still unfolding. We are telling it as we speak. The human song is still weaving its way towards a chorus, through the suffering, through the fear. We need each other. We need heroes. Let your life be a beautiful song. We need hope. Tell a good story with the way you live. What is the world you want?

 

 

Comments

[phyllistobias]

This is such an amazing article and so well-written! It's unfortunate that our society values money, power, glamour, etc. over many other very important things. I always say . . . money comes and money goes, our special loved ones in our life should be where we place the most value and time.
"The best expression of love is time." . . . "The best use of life is love. The best expression of love is time. The best time to love is now." . . .from The Purpose Driven Life. Some people get so caught up in material items we forget what's important.

[perspective123]

Nice piece. As you touch on, a Hero also allows us to know of a greater thing than our humanity. The greater thing that keeps hope, and oder in place. Mr. foreman see you on tour!

[Charles Ray Loudermilk]

Jon you couldn't be more correct. My hero is Sam Childers at http://www.machinegunpreacher.org/

He may not be politically correct, but He is taking part in redemption of this broken place...and proves it with his life, everytime he rescues a child abducted into the horrific life of a child soldier for the pathetic LRA.

He is in Sudan doing what we only speak about.

[stevie iko]

Well done, Jon! In this article you are like a skilled physician offering the patient a tried and true remedy for the "bug" that is trying to knock him (and us) flat on his ass. My question comes with your "…..human song…..weaving its way towards a chorus." What is this grand chorus you are talking about? You ask us to consider what kind of world we want. It seems that the question brings us to the primordial struggle for this ball in space. If you think XYZ is the world that should be, and I think 123 is the best world that should be, we immediately have, at least, an alpha-numeric cacophony. Our history on the planet does not show we do this discussion very well, but till then, I will visit my local food bank with a deposit, and be thankful I have not had to make any withdrawals, lately. Roc on bro!

[Charles Bakker]

What is a hero? I suggest that a hero is one who knows what it is to truly love. We are told that the greatest love is the love that a man shows by laying down his life for someone else. What if this didn't have to mean dying? What if this meant changing the way that we live here and now so that we were no longer living for ourselves? If we loved others so much that we were willing to change the way we go about our daily business so that the hungry could be fed and the hurting could be healed, we would have discovered what it means to be human. Yes, goodness precedes greatness. So what is the greatest of these?

[Charles Bakker]

It seems to me that a call for heroes is appropriate for whatever age a human soul finds themselves in. A better world is a better dream than a better car. Yet, identifying the problem is only the first step. Pointing to the disease, corruption, violence, and hatred in our world is something that we are all capable of. Pointing to people like Mother Theresa - and I would add Gandhi - as role models for the type of people we need to be in order to evoke positive change, is also easy to do. What is much more challenging and therefore much more rewarding is actually living out what we are calling others to. What is much more challenging is love. In order to truly desire change for the better we need to love something. This something cannot be our personal agenda, our dream of fame and fortune. No, this something needs to be others. It is only when one truly loves the world around them that they will seek to do what is best for it. It was love for people that allowed Mother Theresa to help the impoverished, it was love for others that allowed John Perkins to do all that he did, and it is a misguided love of money and pleasure that causes so many of us to fail in our calling today.

[EstherMSwaty]

Wow! Thank you so much for posting this article, it was a breath of fresh air! It was a great reminder to focus on the bigger picture, and my selfish indulgence effects the world.

[lynnholbrook]

My children's generation of hope,promise, love & connection, desperately want to live FULL lives, but I hear their conversations about how they are SO afraid that there is nothing left for them and that the end is near. This article is one more thing of hope because they are SO in need of heros who don't give up, walk out, disappear, or destroy life. They will probably be like my parents' generation - heros, save the world from catastrophe and horrible rulers much like Hitler, but I pray also that they won't burn out there and will unite their own families in love and understanding.

[Niomi]

so he gave up is job, his friends, his life, and built an all new one here, at home. and yes he's still trying to go back to work, but he has found things to make him happy in a world where happiness isn't allowed. and he's getting better. the cancer is almost non-existent. and he has told us everything from the first blood test to the fact that one day he will die because there is not a cure for this Cancer. it will kill him. but as he loves to say, "this cancer will kill me. one day it will kill me. but not today." thank you for letting me share my story. i know it has a lot of holes, but even though my dad is dieing, he's not on his death bed and can, therefore, still yell at me for playing on the computer when i'm sopposed to be cleaning up my room. and by the way. thank you Jon Foreman. you are right. we need real heros. not the ones that are based on make-up, scripts, and electronics. your music is inspiration for all those who hear it. thanks again.

[Niomi]

and he smiles. he laughs. he jokes. he plays. he makes home movies. he writes. he lives for his family. his childrens grades go back up. his wife is less stressed and can work better. James takes care of bills and the house. he never goes back to work. but he remains happy. he keeps his family happy. and 4 years and 8-9 vertebrea breaks later, he's still happy. he's regained enough of his immune system again to go to the occational football, baseball, and basket ball game. and his doctors are amazed at his recovery. and after all the strokes that caused his open heart surgery, and the dumb doctors that caused the strokes, and the dialysis for his kidneys that the cancer attacked, and the backpain from the broken vertebrae, he's still living. this is a true story. i know this because i was one of the kids. and i believe that my dad is the best hero that i can think of. he sacrificed everything so that he could live with us. he could have gone back to work for a week longer, but that would have killed him.

[Niomi]

picture this...

A father of 43 years has 2 children and a strong and beautiful wife. he's a teacher. he has many degrees and both children are A and A/B students. the father's name is James. James get's a rare but serious cancer. a cancer that is incureable. he can't be around students at his school anymore because of the risk of getting sick. if he gets sick, then he dies. James can't get the right health care in Nevada, so him and his family go to Arizona for treatment. 4 doses of Chemo, one open heart surgey, one stemcell transplant, 5 or 6 fired doctors, and 3 months later, the family comes home. the children's grades go down to Cs and Ds. the wife is close to getting fired. the father can't go out of the house because his immune system is at an all time low.

[Elsendor]

Thank you Mr. Foreman. Your article is a loud wake-up call, particularly for Christians, and SO important. Too often we become caught up in our own little lives, just getting through life and not really considering how we impact others, how we serve God, and what we plan to do with our lives. This was a huge encouragement and inspiration, and I pray the Lord will continue to use you in His worthy service.

Rock on!

[Elsendor]

Thank you Mr. Foreman. Your article is a loud wake-up call, particularly for Christians, and SO important. Too often we become caught up in our own little lives, just getting through life and not really considering how we impact others, how we serve God, and what we plan to do with our lives. This was a huge encouragement and inspiration, and I pray the Lord will continue to use you in His worthy service.

m/(>.

[Jordan Cornett]

Way to spread truth!
Lately I've been feeling this same sort of problem with society. We worship the wrong things and get wrapped up in such insignificant parts of life. We don't truly value greatness or like you said the good in people. The good that we as people have within us is what truly can change the world. And all it takes is just a change in ourselves. Thanks for posting this and this is why your music is my favorite. Thank you so much Jon Foreman! Keep letting God mold and use you.
(looking forward to the new album and the tour. see you in atlanta 11/24)

[Yozac]

awesome awesome thoughtful blog. i loved how you highlighted real examples of unsung heros in our society. YES they are the songs, and we all can tell a good song by the way we live. love your band btw! cheerz!