Have
I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.
Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you
wherever you go~ Joshua 1:9
Courage has fascinated me since childhood.
It all started with peer pressure, lack of adequate supervision and an unhealthy
interest in risk-taking. For many years I was the only girl in a family of
boys. My brother and cousin were my closest companions for a good part of my
growing-up years. Jason and Charley relished testosterone-fueled activities
like pestering the neighbors’ watchdog, jumping off the roof, blowing up army
men with fire crackers, and exploring the woods outside our Grandparents’
house. I learned early on that if I were going to keep up I would have to push
past my comfort zone and muster up some courage. The fact that they would mock
me mercilessly if I expressed fear of any suggested adventure helped me develop
bravery (or perhaps stupidity) fairly quickly.
My interest in the subject became a little
more refined when I entered school and developed an interest in biographies
about great men and women. Throughout my childhood and teen years I devoured
books about Abraham Lincoln, Jane Adams, Harriet Tubman, Susan B. Anthony,
Martin Luther King Jr., and Clara Barton, among others. The stories of these brave and pioneering men
and women ignited my imagination, inspired me, and were key to shaping my
attitudes about morality and justice. These stories made me think and ask
questions about the whole concept of courage. As a young girl I remember
pondering questions such as:
Are people born brave? Or do
they have to work at it?
Is boy courage different
from girl courage? Or are people all brave in the same way? (I
know this is a weird question, but I was a little girl surrounded by boys)
Can cowardly people suddenly
become brave?
As I grew my questions became a little
more complex:
Are boldness and courage the
same thing?
What awakens courage in a
person?
What makes one person behave
in a way that is courageous when other people in the same situation behave in a
way that is cowardly and spineless?
How does God define courage?
Recently I read a fantastic book that
reignited my interest in the subject of courage, 7 Men and the Secret of Their Greatness, by Eric Metaxas explores the lives of seven men. Each
of these men displayed courage by defying cultural and societal norms and
surrendering themselves completely to God’s purposes.
The book got me thinking about the
differences between how the world defines courage and how God defines courage.
The world tends to see courage as boldness or daring. The worldly definition of
bravery asserts that it is courageous to be loud, flamboyant and rebellious.
Bravery is defined as self-promotion and by a willingness to oppose authority
or tradition for the sake of opposing tradition and authority. Using this
definition as the standard, celebrities such as Katie Perry, Dennis Rodman and
Lady Gaga easily become the most courageous people in our culture.
I believe that God sees the whole thing a
bit differently. God’s definition of courage is more complex and much more
difficult to define. It often involves self-sacrifice and actively shuns
self-promotion. There are times when courage involves opposition to authority—as
in Daniel chapter three when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego dared to resist the
King when he commanded all the residents of Babylon to worship his statue.
Other times, courage involves showing respect and even kindness to unjust and
unstable authority—as it did with David and his dealings with Saul (1st
Samuel 24).
It
would be impossible for me to define biblical courage in a single blog post,
but I would like to share with you four observations I have made concerning
God’s definition of courage.
Courage is the ability and willingness to
say “no” to groupthink~
The very first occurrence of groupthink
took place in Genesis chapter three when Eve ate the fruit and Adam (knowing it
was wrong) went along with it. Humanity has been fighting the inclination to
capitulate to the crowd mentality ever since. Historically, every great evil
has had a witness and quite often the witness or witnesses chose to go along
with public opinion rather than step up and run the risk of offending the herd.
I have observed that the men and women whom God deems “courageous” (Moses, Daniel,
Esther, Nehemiah, Joshua, etc.) are people who chose to think for themselves—not
independently of God and His word, but independently of human opinion.
Courage is the ability to see the heart of
the matter and then act accordingly~
When Rosa Parks made the decision to hold her
own against inequality and injustice and stay in her seat on December 1, 1955,
she was doing more than just refusing to move. She was acting on the
understanding that if nothing was done, nothing would change; she decided that
she would be the one to be a change-agent whatever the consequences might
be. Some people have an uncanny ability
to “see” what the results of continuing to follow a course of action will be. The
courageous among us act on our vision of the future.
Courage without concern for others will
eventually become brutishness~
I am convinced that there is a difference
between courage and boldness: true courage is born out of selflessness and authentic
concern for others. Boldness sometimes looks like a lot like courage but it is primarily
concerned with self-gratification and getting its own way, rather than the
greater good. Boldness sometimes dresses itself in altruistic clothing, but the
truth inevitably reveals itself. A movement that is rooted in boldness rather
than courage will become cruel and brutal when opposed.
Authentic courage and moral wisdom cannot
be separated~
The people and movements that have gone
down in history as truly courageous and noble have all been rooted (whether
they realized it or not) in a biblical/moral world-view. None of these people
or movements were perfect but their causes have stood the test of time because
they were going after the ideals and things that God values. If courage is not
rooted in a value system that is established in eternal truth it will seek to
control and repress rather than educate and empower and the cause will not
stand the test of time.
Sometimes, we get caught up in the trap of
believing that courage is about the big stuff, the Rosa Parks and David and
Goliath moments in time. It’s true that it takes courage to stand strong in
those moments; but I have found that real courage is developed and challenged
in the little choices we make in life: like how and where we spend our money or
how truthful we choose to be. Courage is choosing to be counter-cultural in the
way you raise your kids or run your household. It takes courage to admit when
your wrong, choose purity in a sex-crazed culture or to say “no” to materialism
and greed and live within your means when everyone around you seems to making
different choices. It’s making brave choices in the small stuff that prepares
us for the big stuff. I am convinced that no one is born brave. Courage awakens
when we choose to act courageously.
Well-done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few
things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s
happiness~ Matthew 25:21
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