where does a superstar go to resign?
and how do they step off their pedestal
when the dizzying top
winds its way to a stop
and the only way down looks so terrible?

what does it take to resist the allure
of privilege,  power and position,
when the noblest intent
any good that was meant
is so readily choked by ambition?

why does it seem such an easy mistake
to trust in the famous and fashionable?
we raise them on high,
puff and praise them, then cry
that their downfall is somehow irrational.

when will we learn that the bravest and best
mask the weak and the flawed and the twisted?
they’ll fail and they’ll fall
just the same as us all:
we’ve shared brokenness since we existed.

can our applause still be weighed with the truth,
minimise all this crashing and burning?
sift blind adulation?
shelve wild expectation?
a hard yet respectful unlearning.

so let all our heroes and champions and saints
be cheered on with feet on the ground;
and give our acclaim
to the humblest of names:
the only One worthy to crown.

Christ gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
Philippians 2:7-8