When Idols Have Clay Feet

We humans love heroes—people who excel in sports like the Olympians, music like rock stars, politics like senators and presidential candidates, acting like movie stars, and in other endeavors. We not only look up to them, but they serve as models for us. They inspire us to be better. How disappointing and depressing it is to discover that our idols have flaws and sometimes even serious faults. The news is glutted with stories of famous people who acted infamously today and in the past. So how do we deal with these sad turns of events? For one thing, we shouldn't be surprised. There is a saying that idols have clay feet. This adage is derived from an Old Testament story of the king of Babylon's dream in which a statue of gold, silver, bronze, and iron had feet of clay. The prophet Daniel said that the dream symbolized that the powerful nation would be destroyed. We are all children of Adam, who, according to Genesis, was created out of clay. We are all prone to stumble and fall on our clay feet. No one is perfect. click to continue