The Pedestal Predicament

From wikipedia: Source of all light and knowledge...

Pedestal (from French piedestal, Italian piedistallo, foot of a stall) is a term generally applied to the support of a statue or a vase. Although in Syria, Asia Minor and Tunisia the Romans occasionally raised the columns of their temples or propylaea on square pedestals, in Rome itself they were employed only to give greater importance to isolated columns, such as those of Trajan and Antoninus, or as a podium to the columns employed decoratively in the Roman triumphal arches. The architects of the Italian revival, however, conceived the idea that no order was complete without a pedestal, and as the orders were by them employed to divide up and decorate a building in several stories, the cornice of the pedestal was carried through and formed the sills of their windows, or, in open arcades, round a court, the balustrade of the arcade. They also would seem to have considered that the height of the pedestal should correspond in its proportion with that of the column or pilaster it supported; thus in the church of Saint John Lateran, where the applied order is of considerable dimensions, the pedestal is 13 feet (4.0 m) high instead of the ordinary height of 3 to 5 feet (1.5 m).

There is a phrase in the English language... To Place on a Pedestal Meaning to glorify or idealize.

I was thinking about this last night while reading a new book I received yesterday. The book is Out of the Flames: The Remarkable Story of a Fearless Scholar, a Fatal Heresy, and One of the Rarest Books in the World by Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone, and deals with the life of Michael Servetus, one of the great reformers during the Reformation in Europe. I'm still at the part when the authors are explaining the historical background and context of Mr Servetus' life, but I read something which dovetailed into something I've been thinking about of late.

Martin Luther, devout monk and active member of the Catholic Church began to have doubts when he was selected to go to the Vatican to represent his monastery. He was selected because he was the most 'monky' monk in the monastery. A strict adherent to his order and devotee of the scriptures.

While in Rome he was able to participate in many activities which were supposed to allow a person to either credit some of the time they were meant to spend in purgatory, or limit the time an ancestor had to spend there. There is a particular stair case which a person could climb on their hands and knees, and if they were to pray at each of the 38 steps, they could attain freedom for an ancestor from purgatory. As he reached the top step, the thought struck him, that this whole exercise was "kind of dumb" (My words of course). With that thought, things started to unravel in his mind. He noticed the exceeding wealth within the Vatican, and the way in which the higher echelons of the Church elevated themselves above the members. It was after that trip that he returned to Wittenberg, where in time he penned the 95 thesis which he nailed to the door of the chapel, and began his role in the infamous Reformation.

Several years ago, I was employed by the LDS Church. When and where is not important, but on one occasion I was tasked to deliver something an office within the large office building in downtown Salt Lake. I was a little hesitant at first, since it was the same floor where the Presiding Bishoprics offices were located. Why hesitant, you might ask... The dress code in that building requires men to always wear a suit coat when leaving their offices. I'm not a big fan of suit coats, and usually didn't wear one. I found myself without one on this occasion, and had heard that members of this higher Council had been known to seriously reprimand anyone caught roaming the building without a jacket on.

As the elevators opened on the floor of my destination, I was somewhat taken back. The were some floors down there that I though were probably a little overly decorated. My thought are that if you are a non-profit organization, money should really be spent on important things, and not wasted on superficial garbage. But, none of those floors could have prepared me for the lavish decor which greeted me outside the offices of the Presiding Bishopric.

That particular experience wasn't the reason I started questioning my faith, or the commitment of the leaders of the organization to the Church, and not to the wealth and status they received as part of their 'calling' within the Church, but it did play a part.

In thinking about this, and other experiences I've had, I got to thinking about pedestals, and particularly about whom we place on pedestals, or times when we place ourselves upon pedestals.

The thing is, when you place yourself on a pedestal, you receive with that pedestal and responsibility to live to a higher standard. Martin Luther had a problem when he saw those who claimed to be closer to God, wasting sacred money, and living lavish lifestyles and engaging in riotous and immoral living. I had a problem when I saw men who claim to lead Christ's own Church, working in offices of which any CEO would be proud, driving brand new cars and yet claiming to represent a person whose lifestyle was perhaps just a step about complete poverty.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you are going to elevate yourself on a pedestal, you damn well better realize the example you need to set.

In my personal life, I realize that in a way, my kids have elevated me on a pedestal, purely by virtue of being their father. It's a humbling experience, and wake up call to me as a person. At some point in their lives, my kids are going to realize that I'm not perfect - some of them already do. I think that's natural, but hopefully they won't have elevated me so high, nor will I have elevated myself too high.

I'm rambling, but the point I'm trying to get across, is that being on a pedestal isn't a good thing. If you believe in God, then you should understand that we are all God's children, none of us better, or deserving of anything better than the next one. If you don't then surely you understand that we're all the same creatures, just with different personalities, abilities and talents.

Raising yourself on a pedestal, does nothing other than to give yourself a little farther to fall when you screw up.

Oh and I would highly recommend Out of the Flames. I'll be posting a full review of it when I'm done!