When it was revealed earlier this year that William Bennett, who compiled "The Book of Virtues," had a gambling habit that racked up $8 million in losses, modern-day Pharisees had a heyday criticizing the Culture Czar.

William Raspberry of the Washington Post wrote, "I mean, $8 million in losses in a decade! Surely that's immoral-and just as surely it must make Bennett a hypocrite."

In an interview that appeared in the August 9 edition of WORLD Magazine, Mr. Bennett apologized for his gambling habit and admitted that for him, it was a sin. But he also explained that what weighed equally on his conscience was that he had betrayed a loyal following.

Many are now leveling similar accusations against Rush Limbaugh in light of recent allegations that he illegally procured addictive, prescription pain-killers in large quantities.

Last Monday during his opening monologue, Mr. Limbaugh was as forthright as he could be, telling his audience of 20 million listeners, "I am waiting to find out just exactly what I am facing legally. And until I know that, I'm not going to say anything, I can't. But as I said Friday, I asked you to trust me, and I'm asking you again to trust me now and today. When such time comes, fear not; what there is to be known will be known, and I will tell you."

When cultural icons fall, admirers feel betrayed.

Whether conservative talk-radio giants or presidents, preachers or NBA super stars, we all have expectations about the behavior of those we look up to.

Maybe we are the ones who are wrong.

Maybe our expectations are unrealistic.

A man's walk talks louder than his talk talks, but does his failure negate his message? Bill Bennett explains: "The message is the same. The validity of the message doesn't depend on the messenger. But the better the messenger, the more plausible the message can be to the listener-not the more accurate or the more correct, but more plausible."

We are all men, all fallible, all sinners-every single one of us. "There is none righteous, no not one," the apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the church in Rome. While those who preach a message of morality are judged more harshly when they fall, the ugly truth is that none of us is innocent in the sight of God-with one exception, Jesus Christ, the perfect God-man.

Jesus came preaching a message of forgiveness through repentance with the promise of a new nature to all who would believe.

The Pharisees tried to condemn Jesus' behavior on several occasions. They accused him of eating with tax collectors, working on the Sabbath and carousing with sinners. But their charges were baseless for he "committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth."

When we look to men as our exemplars, lifting them up and setting them upon the alabaster pedestals we all erect in our minds, there is always the risk we will be let down.

"Real Answers™" furnished courtesy of The Amy Foundation Internet Syndicate. To contact the author or The Amy Foundation, write or E-mail to: P. O. Box 16091, Lansing, MI 48901-6091; amyfoundtn@aol.com. Visit our website at www.amyfound.org.