Even Superman Has His Kryptonite by Chris White

George Reeves: He was the Real Superman

  

Having grandsons in my life now (I was the father of two daughters) I had a conversation with them the other day that I haven't had since my own boyhood.  "Who is your favorite superhero pa?",  the boys asked.  "Well, that is a good question.  I always liked Spiderman and Batman, but my all- time favorite is Superman."  "Superman?  Who's he??".  Apparently Superman hasn't got quite the marketing machine he once had in the boy world, but things move fast today with the topic always changing, and it could be that Superman is out there just lost in the shuffle of so many other superheroes.

I always loved the story of Superman, his special powers of x-ray vision (something the TSA and every adolescent male can only envy), running faster than a speeding locomotive, bullets bouncing off his chest, and of course the ability to fly!  But what was always puzzling to me as a boy was how someone so strong could be rendered utterly helpless by green kryptonite.   How could the "man of steel" collapse in total paralysis just by being in the presence of such an uncommon mineral (actually in official Superman lore, green kryptonite is a substance that was on Superman's home planet Krypton.  It wasn't a bad thing there, but Superman was just a normal person on Krypton too.  Apparently the brightness of our sun, different from Krypton's red sun, gives Superman his superhero mojo, but the kryptonite blocks this completely)?  Like I said, as a boy I was puzzled by this.  As an adult I understand kryptonite completely.

While every one of us possess many forms of strength we all seem to that "one weakness" that renders us helpless.  That is your kryptonite.  If I could tease this out a little further, I would put "human kryptonite" into two categories: phobias and lust.  Phobias are different from normal fears.  Many fears are quite rational and normal and I would actually not put in the category of weakness.  It is not a weakness to wear a seatbelt or a motorcycle helmet or a life-vest because you fear bodily injury or death.  Accidents can and do happen all the time even though the statistics are weighted in your favor prudence warrants their regular use.  Phobias however, are characterized by their irrationality or strong ability to cause such revulsion that you'll avoid that fear at all costs.

 The question a phobia poses in my mind is not its irrationality per se, but whether or not it’s worth the effort to challenge it or just let it peacefully coexist with the rest of your psyche.  For instance I know a woman who literally collapses in fear at the sight of a king python snake.  But said person never has or ever will live in a tropical climate (this snake’s natural habitat) and has only experienced this phobia while visiting a zoo.  Could she benefit from some form of exposure therapy to overcome this phobia?  Yes, but should she?  My guess is she would be just as happy to visit the zoo and just avoid the tropical snake exhibit altogether. On the other hand some phobias are worth challenging.

One of the most common phobias is blood and needles.  As I understand it, a certain part of the human population, myself included, actually experience a sudden drop in blood pressure at the very sight of blood or a syringe, which makes one feel lightheaded and faint.  So the phobia has a double-whammy in the sense that there is the fear of blood and the fear of your physical reaction combined and hardwired into your mind and body.  In my own journey of life, I have found challenging this phobia has had a pay-off because with a family history of heart-disease, I have an interest in having my blood lipids checked regularly.  This can't happen without a blood draw (at least at this time).  As a minister I am also frequently called to the hospital when a church member has had an operation.  I am there to pray for and encourage them and I can't do that from the hospital parking lot which means I have seen all sorts of needles and blood whether I want to or not.  In some ways my vocation has been its own form of exposure therapy but in my personal life I have found certain forms of self-talk before, during, and after a blood draw has greatly reduced my fears and anxiety.  It has had a very practical pay-off in my regular life which is what I would say is where the dividing line between challenging and leaving a fear alone truly lies.  If a phobia prevents you from enjoying what most would consider normal activities then it should be challenged under the guidance of a doctor or therapist or trained life coach.

But there is the other kind of kryptonite that most of us have that should be avoided at all costs.  In popular culture lust has become almost exclusively linked with strong sexual desire.  While lust  does include the passions of human libido, it is more rightly gauged as an inordinate desire in any one of our bodily appetites or our egos as well.  Hence, in some of us, the normal appetite for food becomes  the pursuit of gluttony while in others the normal appetite for marital relations has become the pursuit of extra partners or pornography.  For some, the need we all have for a pat on the back once in a while has turned into a consuming desire for constant recognition and acclaim or the desire to provide a comfortable living for your family has developed into the gnawing desire for the accumulation of wealth.  

One very natural approach to any outsized appetites is that of spiritual fasting.  In this approach, one forgoes a meal and devotes the time that would be used in meal preparation and eating to prayer and worship.  It may seem counterintuitive to combat lustful appetites with missing a meal, but the drive to eat food is so primal that greater discipline in this area tends to extend towards the other things in our lives that are out of control.  Of course if the prayer is only focused on "not doing something" that is going to backfire because you're indirectly putting your attention on the very thing you are trying to stop.  Effective prayers are filled with thanksgiving and worship of Christ which in turn leads to greater trust in Him, which in turn fuels greater satisfaction in Him.  Satisfaction tames all desires.

That however is not always the best approach for certain kinds of lust.  Some things can have such a hold of our minds, hearts, and bodies, that the only prudent thing we can do is utterly avoid and forsake them forever.  St. Paul gave that advice to his younger protégé Timothy when he instructed him in how to be an effective Christian leader.  He didn't say "gradually cut back" or "look but don't touch", he said "flee youthful lust".  The best Biblical example of this is in Genesis 39 when Joseph, the steward of Potiphar's household (essentially the manager), was seduced by his bosses wife.  Joseph didn't hang around and try to talk her out of it or express his platonic affection for her, he ran for it.  As Proverbs 6:27 expresses "can a man take fire into his heart and not be burned?".  Answer: of course not.  Some passions in our lives are so hot, we must not even come close to them.  The only wise and prudent thing to do is run the opposite direction.  I can tell you this approach works for lust in all its forms.  This is not starving it out, it is giving it no opportunity to seize your mind and heart.  I have mentioned this in other articles, but there are some things I will not even pray about simply because I know to give an inch of my thinking about certain things will quickly dominate my entire mind.  There are some things in life we must all stand and face, but there are others where the safest course of action and the only path to freedom is to flee.  It's nothing to be ashamed of though, for even Superman has his own kryptonite to contend with.

Scriptures Mentioned

 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.  2 Tim. 2:22

 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside.  She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.  Genesis 39: 11-12

 Can a man carry fire next to his chest
    and his clothes not be burned?
 Or can one walk on hot coals
    and his feet not be scorched?
So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife;
    none who touches her will go unpunished.
People do not despise a thief if he steals
    to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry,
 but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold;
    he will give all the goods of his house.
 He who commits adultery lacks sense;
    he who does it destroys himself.
 He will get wounds and dishonor,
    and his disgrace will not be wiped away.  Proverbs 6:27-33