Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight?
2 Samuel 12:9a

Mahatma Gandhi should be cancelled.

Yep. Mother Teresa, too. And Martin Luther.

Here’s a fun (okay, disturbing) list of famous folks we revere, whose other words and actions might turn your stomach.

Mahatma Gandhi – Icon of non-violence. Also deeply racist early on, and he tested his willpower by sharing his bed with naked young women. Sure thing, Gandhi.

Thomas Jefferson – Authored the Declaration of Independence. Owned slaves and fathered a child with one. Those truths aren’t quite so self-evident now, are they?

Coco Chanel – Legendary fashion designer…and Nazi spy, agent code-named “Westminster.” Bet you didn’t learn that in fashion school.

Mother Teresa – Canonized for her work with the poor and dying, yet withheld pain meds, saying suffering was beautiful. Beautiful? Sounds cruel to me.

Winston Churchill – Inspirational but colonialist wartime leader who openly believed white Protestants were superior. Gandhi (see above) likely had some thoughts about this one.

Charles Lindbergh – Aviation hero who became a blaring anti-Semitic mouthpiece for the “America First” movement. Talk about crashing and burning.

J.K. Rowling – Beloved author whose harsh stance against transgender people fractured her fanbase and relationships with Harry Potter actors. Very Malfoy-esque.

Martin Luther – Father of the Protestant Reformation who also penned “On the Jews and Their Lies,” advocating violence against Jewish communities. Talk about needing some serious reforming himself.

The uncomfortable truth? History-makers we admire often carry dark, sometimes ugly contradictions. Even biblical heroes aren’t immune.

Take King David—he’s revered by Jews and Christians alike as a model of bravery, wisdom, and faithfulness.

Except when he wasn’t. Remember the whole Bathsheba thing? Lust, adultery, murder. Check, check, and big ol’ check.

In another universe, he could have been cancelled as quickly as you can say “Jerusalem.” But instead, God held David accountable, forgave him, and his complicated legacy endured.

Nobody gets a free pass just because they did great things. Whitewashing their mistakes does a disservice to their humanity—and ours.

But God isn’t in the cancelling business, either; that’s more of a trendy pop-culture impulse than a divine practice. God redeems, forgives, and holds people accountable. That’s a tougher, deeper road—and one we’re called to walk.

Maybe someday you’ll be celebrated for doing something remarkable. What skeletons will historians drag from your closet, I wonder?

Let’s agree: History makers are better celebrated, warts and all, than venerated.

You hear that, Teresa? Quit hogging all the halos.

Have a good week,

Mitch