the basic message #E363
9/4/05
I remember when the "King of the Hill" TV show came out several years ago. "A cartoon in primetime?", I scoffed. "The Simpsons", of course, had been on the air for many years and had been quite successful, but a boring cartoon about a propane salesman? It couldn't possibly work. Good thing I'm not a TV critic for a living- I'd have missed a winning program.
I'm here to say I might be the biggest fan of Hank Hill, cartoon character. Hank is everything I yearn to be: patient, a dedicated employee, a respected citizen of the community, a good role model, a loving husband and father, and maybe most importantly, he's making a difference in a lost world. Yes, Hank might stand out on the curb and drink a few beers with his neighbors on the sidewalk, but rather than frown on alcohol consumption, we must remember that Hank is raising the standards of those guys. Sometimes, at least.
It would appear that the days of human role models in TV shows might be over. Sad as it sounds, we must resort to a man made of celluloid or digital imagery to offer us good examples of how to live. Contrast Hank Hill with Homer Simpson, another primetime cartoon father. Hank and Homer are 180 degrees apart. Homer would like to portray himself as a good man, but clearly falls a million miles short of the goal. Hank, on the other hand, is a self-effacing character that is probably too hard on himself, but in reality, is a giant of a man. Isn't this similar to the Christian community? Many of us are Homer Simpsons- we try to fool people into thinking we're something we aren't. How many "pillars of the community" go behind closed doors to view internet porn on a daily basis? How many deacons visit strip-clubs when they go out of town on business? How many "respected church members" hide their alcoholic drink when the pastor enters the restaurant? Even worse, how many pastors walk into the restaurant and join his church members for a drink? And let's not forget about those sweet ladies in the choir that cuss like sailors when they return to the job on Monday morning.
Hank Hill has a typical American family. He has a wife that's a sometimes schoolteacher who tends to get in frequent jams. He's got a little boy that would be considered obese by US Government Nutrition standards. He has some friends that are, shall we say, pretty strange. He has a job that would be considered boring by many, but it's a job he loves. Sadly, his boss is usually having an extramarital affair, at one time with one of his workers. Hank lives in a little cartoon town called Arlen, Texas that has many of the trials and tribulations of real towns and cities like you and I live in. Hank is often misunderstood in his efforts to do the right thing, and that's a condition many authentic Christians have suffered through as well.
And so, I must again admit I want to be like Hank Hill, a man that truly exhibits the characteristics of a real Christian, although he doesn't hand out tracts or knock on people's doors in an effort to evangelize the community. Hank's life is the best testimony of his Christian witness. We could all learn a lot from a person that really doesn't exist.