In a recent opinion poll, British adults answered the question as to whom they would like their children to look up to. It says a lot for the moral and spiritual state of Britain today that Jesus ranked a lowly third behind family members and multi-millionaire entrepreneur and daredevil Richard Branson. If the poll had been limited to adults under the age of 34 the results would have shown even greater-or should I say, the true level of-moral and spiritual decline.
I suppose that it is understandable that parents should like their children to emulate fathers and mothers, uncles or aunts, etc. And I can see that a flamboyant character such as Richard Branson would take the imagination. But it says a lot about a society when it overwhelmingly chooses such people as it is role models over the Son of God Himself.
Richard Branson is rich and our society worships material wealth. Millions define their personal worth and happiness by their financial success. It is conveniently forgotten that for most people to make a great deal of money in today's world they have to flaunt the law of God and often have to wade through the pain and suffering of a multitude of little people who get in their way. Money at any cost seems to be many people's motto. That's why they play the lottery or engage in some other form of gambling. They call this "easy money" but there's nothing easy about it. It comes at a terrible price. Jesus said, "A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things that he posseseth" (Luke 12:15).
Branson has made himself a very likeable and admired member of British society. He made a lot of money from homosexual bars in Europe as well as from rock music. Why any parent would want his children to emulate such a pattern of behaviour is beyond me.
Others to gain a place in the ten most popular role models were teachers, Nelson Mandela, Princess Diana, Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King and Microsoft Founder, Bill Gates. There's a pattern here and it is obvious. While intrepid leadership such as that provided by Churchill in World War II impressed enough people to merit a place in the top ten. But I can't get away from the fact that so few people wanted their kids to be like the Lord Jesus Christ.
Of course, this simply underscores the fact that Britain is no longer a Christian country. In fact, it is a multi-faith country and many of its citizens have little or no time for Christ. It used to be that Britain sent missionaries to the world. It still does but it has reached the place where it needs to have Christian missionaries sent to it. It needs the Christians who are there to start living and speaking as Christians, to carry the gospel to the heathen and look to the Lord to bless the effort they make. "Salvation is of the Lord" but He did commission His disciples to and preach the gospel. The sooner we get to spreading the gospel the better. And to do that we should live before men with the likeness of Christ. We could have no better role model than the blessed Son of God, who loved us and gave Himself for us. The best witnesses for Christ are those who are most like him.
