An article written by my father, the Rev. C. Thomas Paige, as it appeared in the Tri-State Defender on the date shown.
A few days ago, a young man came to me. On his face was written all of the evidence of distress. He inquired of me if I had a few moments that I might unhurriedly spend with him. His conversation was of great concern to him, if no one else. I told him if the subject of his conversation was that important, I would sit down and offer whatever advice and consolation I could.
As time went on, the story opened up and he told me that he was most disturbed. One in whom he had placed all of his confidence had failed his expectations. The young man had adopted a person of his association as his idol. Day after day, he had looked forward to being just like this person.
His expectations had mounted as time went on. He had looked forward to being able to speak, to answer questions, to live, and eventually, to die, like his idol. Then one day he heard some very uncomplimentary things about this idol. He ignored these remarks and went on accepting him as his idol. But the uncomplimentary comments continued.
This great avalanche of comments finally had its effect on this young man. Now he stands in the shadow of what might have been. The question of the hypocrisy of mankind is plaguing him. This young man wanted to know if all people are like his idol. Are all young people brought face to face with this bitterness like that which started the wheel of doubt turning in the mind of this man?
Maybe this is what Paul had in mind when he stated, “I have fought a good fight, I have kept the faith.” To this young man, someone had broken the faith. Whenever we live in a world of hypocrisy we eventually lead someone to disappointment. It only takes a look at a really disappointed person’s face to see what breaking faith can mean to someone who has made you his idol.
I would like to make this casual observation here: everyone is someone’s idol. The responsibility of making this world better, then, lies with all of us. We do not know who has made us their idol so at this point, it behooves all of us to live as nobly as we can. Living any other way will cause all of us to not only falter ourselves but to cause others to fall.
How tragic it is that once this man looked upon a bright and shining jewel and now all of a sudden it is a pile of debris. It brings to each of us the question, “What are we doing to enhance the lives of those following us?” In far too many instances we build shabby bridges, walk crooked miles, utter unsavory statements, and live questionable lives – things that cause those who follow us to falter along the way.
We look at present world conditions and look around us, trying to find some place to hang the blame. But sometimes all that we have to do is to take a good look in the mirror. Many times we do not have to go any further than ourselves to find the answers to many of the problems of today. It is not something way off yonder, as many of us would like to place it, but it is right at our fingertips. The blame for much of the faltering in life today i snot because of some system failing but because many of us, in our personal smartness, are not nearly as smart as we think we are.
Lives and actions predicated upon personal smartness have never done anything to enhance the cause of noble living for our day and time – or any day and time. Not only must men know the best in terms of personal thinking, but they must do those things that will promote the best possible lives for all concerned. It is this that is most needed today in our society. This young man did not encounter something peculiar to himself — thousands of young people are being disillusioned every day in the same way with those they have taken as their idols. We who are more advanced in years and experience must light the way for those following us. At this point in human history, we can do nothing different.
Whatever many of us might think of it, the end is in sight. The day of accountability is just around the corner. Soon many of us will have to give an account of our stewardship. The best thing that could happen to any of us is to, in the words of Paul, be able to cry out earnestly and sincerely, “I have kept the faith!”
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
If you are looking for a Mother’s Day post from my father’s writings, check out this one.
When I read your father’s sermon, I recalled these verses from Jeremiah 17.
5 This is what the LORD says:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who depends on flesh for his strength
and whose heart turns away from the LORD.
6 He will be like a bush in the wastelands;
he will not see prosperity when it comes.
He will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
in a salt land where no one lives.
7 “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.
There are other such verses that warn us not to trust in idols, which I suspect is why your father chose that term. Whether our idol is made of flesh, wood, stone, or metal, it will at some point fail us.
That’s what I was thinking, Citizen Tom. It’s a good idea to not put any person up on a pedistal, because we are all imperfect humans capable of failing and then leading someone else to be greatly disappointed just like the young man in Rev. Paige’s article.
Huh. Reading this, and then CT’s quote, I can’t help but think that CT’s completely missing Rev. Paige’s point. Shorter Rev. Paige: It’s on *you* to make things better. Shorter Jeremiah: God will make it better, so don’t you dare take responsibility.
I could be wrong. But looking at history, it’s pretty clear to me which mindset leads to a better world.
MB – Because no one person can control the process, communications is of necessity a team exercise. When someone communicates, their message depends upon what they understand about the idea they are trying to communicate, what they want from the recipient, what they know about the recipient, and their skill as a communicator. The medium the sender chooses, in this case the written word on a blog, also affects how the message is received. Finally, the knowledge, biases and communications skills of those receiving the message affect what they get out of the message.
Am I on Rev. Paige’s team? Do I understand him well? It would presumptuous to say I do. I have not had the honor of being acquainted with the gentleman.
Do I understand the Bible well? I have read the Bible, and I have studied it, but I am certainly no Bible scholar. So far what I have learned of it strongly suggests the Bible deserves more careful consideration than at first I thought.
What I can say with some assurance is that you and I are not on the same team. Hostility generally makes the recipient of a message unreceptive. So we do not communicate well.
No, we most definitely are not on the same team, Tom (see how easy it is to communicate that in a short and simple sentence?). I’m interested in improving our common lot, and you’re interested in a lot of sophistry.
MB – Just as it easier to destroy than it is to build, it is easier to ridicule or communicate anger than it is to communicate calm, peace, or forbearance. Perhaps, if you tried it, you might better understand the difficulty.
In the spirit of the blind squirrel, Tom, you’ve got that one right. I’m just not into making efforts where it’s all but certain to be wasted.
Now I see why we don’t debate in church, you guys just about messed up a beautiful sermon. It thouched my heart, there is no debate there!
I may have him confused with someone else, but I believe it was Jerry Falwell who, when an interviewer told him that people looked up to him as a role model, Falwell said (I’m paraphrasing), “Well, they shouldn’t. I’m imperfect, just like everyone else. If people look to me as a role model, I can only guarantee they will be disappointed. The only role model we should have, the only perfect man, is Jesus Christ.”