Courage

On Wednesday nights we are going through the 7 virtues. This week we are talking about courage. Courage seems to be one of those things that we celebrate, but rarely do we make it a key part of our lives. Many people know that Joshua is told to be "strong and courageous." But was does that mean?

Is courage taking risks? I'm not so sure it is. Is courage feeling the freedom to always say what you think is right? This seems to lack some love. Is courage never having doubts? Again, I don't think so. So what is courage?

Aristotle described courage as the willingness to face that which is painful. This seems to be right because doing something even though we know it will cause pain, whether that pain is physical or emotional, seems courageous. We see many examples of this courage in the Bible. We see it in Joshua while leading the people on military conquests. We see it in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, as they are sentenced to the fiery furnace. We see it in Paul as he endures pain to share the faith with a lost world.

We see this kind of courage today as well. We see it in the person who shares his or her faith with a person who may react negatively. We see it in people who accept the call to the mission field. We see it when we do something that we know is right but is equally unpopular. We see it when people sign up for the nursery (just kidding).

Courage is a virtue because it is the action that should follow after we decide upon the right thing. We should not pat ourselves on the back for knowing the right thing to do unless we also actually do it. In a society where image is so important, it is difficult to stand out in a crowd. While we celebrate courage on many levels, we also are wary of others who display courage. When people challenge the staus quo regardless of the costs, we can react in a very hostile way.

So the challenge is this: demonstrate courage by not letting the pain deter you from your mission and demonstrate love by recognizing courage in others. Good luck.