What is a hero?

Who is a hero? Someone who wears a flowy bright cape and waves to others in arrogance, or someone who does heroic acts for others to serve without acknowledgment?  The common definition of a hero by our community is un-definitely stereotypical. A hero is defined by Webster in this overused term as “A mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability.” However,  you don’t need to possess these qualities to be a hero. In fact, you don’t have to be anything in the sense of strong or super--you can be weaker than a worm but still be considered a hero for your heroic acts of the heart. A superhero, I would say, is a misused and a confused term. In my eyes, a hero or a heroic person must abide by these qualifications: a servant’s heart and the ability to hold God’s truth without glowing glory.

An adjective that describes my hero is a servant’s heart.  It’s not only something you possess but something a hero lives by. The trait of a servant's heart is portrayed by multiple people, my favorite being my grandmother. My grandma always thought of others before herself, even when she was secretly struggling with Alzheimer's disease.She turned her own home into a refuge for troubled children coming from juvie. She fed and brought billows of gifts and flowers to those who were sick. She must have been a very charitable person to do this. Another servant for God is my own bible teacher -- Mr. Schulz -- he prays for major changes every day. Mr. Schulz shows the willingness to be a servant for God daily by taking his time to have others in his prayers and make sure chivalry plays a major role in our school. Lastly, Phil Mickelson possesses a servant’s heart - while he may be known to win in about anything he puts his mind to, he isn’t known to be a bragger. Phil is known to be a charitable guy, for example, a couple of years ago he was competing in a large golf tournament and while his ball was descending towards the ground, the ball made a sudden turn and hit a patron in the wrist. While this may not be such a big deal, it shattered the watcher's wrist watch. While the watch may not have been expensive Phil felt a call from God. He quickly pulled off his own valuable Rolex and, being servant-like, he gave his watch to the man. Overall, to have a servant’s heart you must do things for others willingly (not for your own self confidence or consciousness) but for other people’s sake. 

Another quality someone must have to be a hero, in my eyes,  is to worship God. A large role model who possesses this trait is the preacher and faithful follower of God, Billy Graham. Billy Graham worshiped God daily, not only in his own home but in his crusades where he led millions to Christ when sharing the gospel. Reverend Billy Graham also traveled to remote destinations and villages just to share the good truth while risking his life in dangerous countries. Another person is my uncle. Though he has to struggle with long family feuds and arguments, he still shows the love of Christ to all of us. For example, he sends us all daily Bible verses and what it meant to him every day this overall makes us closer as a family though we may live far apart. He also always reminds - Jesus loves us. Though this may be a simple phrase, we forget about overall how important and fulfilling these short words are. Overall a hero worships God overall no matter the consequence of possibilities, and no matter how hard it is. 

Overall heroes don’t think like the bystanders when they know they can do good. Heroes step up to the occasion to help others and sacrifice everything because they are so selfless that they will risk their lives. In fact, heroes would give up their own lives to ensure I have a life. I have experienced heroism in my life from others who show kindness to me. They would give up everything, just for me! Some heroes can even leave an impact on a handful of people who saw their heroic act or just their thoughts and actions. From my own experiences, a hero follows these attributes: a serving soul and unstoppable faith.