Several years ago, I wrote a children's sermon entitled "A Miraculous Turn Around." The lesson was based on Luke 7:11-16 where Jesus encountered a large crowd that was mourning a young man's death. Jesus approached the boy's mother and said, "Don't Cry." Then he said to the dead boy, "Get up!" The young man rose and returned to his mother.
At the time I wrote this lesson, Lance Armstrong was at the pinnacle of his cycling career. He had overcome cancer and had won the Tour de France a record seven times. That is a record that is not likely to ever be broken. He was certainly a prime example of "A Miraculous Turn Around."
Even if you don't follow bicycle racing, you know what has happened since that time. He has been accused by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency of cheating through the use of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs. Armstrong denies cheating, but refuses to fight the charge stating that he has cleared hundreds of tests and has never tested positive for any banned substance. He has been stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and has been banned from professional cycling.
To many people Lance Armstrong is still a hero, but to many he is a disgraced cheater. I don't know which is correct, but I do know that his story teaches us that it we must avoid the worship of idols. It has been demonstrated time and time again that the idols we worship tend to have "Feet of Clay." (Daniel 2:31-33)
