“It’s difficult to stand on a pedestal and wash the feet of those below. – Chuck Colson
Our American celebrity culture where we are all driven to accomplish and be seen as important runs so deeply counter to the teaching of Jesus. This short sentence captures a vital warning:
“It’s difficult to stand on a pedestal and wash the feet of those below.”
For a culture that is enthralled with the idea of getting on a pedestal, a platform, a ministry, where it seems like we consider celebrity to be it’s own kind of good, these words are a corrective.
Chuck Colson is a controversial figure. He served under Richard Nixon and had a role in the Watergate scandal, for which he served time in prison. He had a mid-life conversion to Christianity and became a vocal figure in the Evangelical right.
I can’t get behind everything he has said or been involved with, but he definitely has some personal experience about the destructive power of the pedestals we put leaders on.