Why Courage Matters

By Rick James Why Courage Matters • The Definition of Courage • Joshua • Esther • The Disciples • Observations • Everyday Courage • Courage: Sanctification’s Missing Ingredient • Courage to Live the Truth • Courage to Tell the Truth • Last Words Why Courage Matters In April 2008, President of a rooftop when an insurgent grenade bounced George W. Bush off Mike’s chest and landed on the roof. Mike had awarded the Medal of a clear chance to escape, but he realized that the Honor posthumously other two SEALs did not. In that terrible moment, to a Navy SEAL by he had two options — to save himself or to save his the name of Michael friends. For Mike, this was no choice at all. Monsoor. Monsoor had He threw himself onto the grenade and absorbed been killed in Iraq in the blast with his body. One of the survivors put it September 2006. this way: “Mikey looked death in the face that day and said, ‘You cannot take my brothers. I will go in Beneath his shirt, Bush wore a gold replica of their stead.’”3 Monsoor’s dog tags. As he brought Monsoor’s parents to stand beside him, he could hardly hold War is a billion acts of courage and cowardice — and himself together as he struggled against tears.1 this is just on the battlefield. What about a surviving spouse or parent? You couldn’t say that that In May 2006, Monsoor had been the hero of another moment of “looking death in the face” takes more rescue — one he survived — saving the life of a courage than having to see it every day on the face teammate while risking his own. Bush gave this of a son or daughter, could you? description of the event: On the day Bush awarded Monsoor the Medal “With bullets flying all around them, Mike returned of Honor, our nation honored true courage. But fire with one hand while helping pull the injured courage hasn’t always enjoyed this kind of approval man to safety with the other. In a dream about rating. For the decades prior to September 11, 2001, the incident months later, the wounded SEAL America’s stock in the moral commodity had been envisioned Mike coming on a steady decline — and in no place was this more “Mikey looked death to the rescue with wings visible than on the battlefields of Hollywood. in the face that day on his shoulders.”2 and said, ‘You cannot “Catch 22” probably started it all, but the honor take my brothers. I But in September 2006, might need to be shared with “All’s Quiet on the will go in their stead.’” Michael Monsoor gave Western Front.” Then there was “M*A*S*H,” then up the last of his spare “Apocalypse Now” and “The Deer Hunter.” After lives, saving two fellow soldiers by throwing himself that, Hollywood spit them out with semi-automatic on a live grenade. As Bush describes, Mike and two regularity: “Full Metal Jacket,” “Born on the Fourth teammates had taken position on the outcropping of July” — reload — “Hamburger Hill,” “The Thin 1 Why Courage Matters Red Line,” “Tigerland” — reload. While some of we can afford to keep courage boxed in the attic these movies occasionally salute noble values, like an old tuxedo: Should times and trends change, many scenes give us an alternative narrative and an we’re optimistic it will still fit. alternate definition of Though war was bravery. However, I think the predominant source of our often the intended neglect is that we don’t have a file folder for target of these films, Though war was courage. It doesn’t fit into a category of spiritual courage was often often the intended disciplines like Bible study, prayer or daily the casualty… target of these films, devotions, and it never made it to our top 10 list courage was often the of Christian virtues. It was even snubbed as a casualty with some scripts presenting a definition nominee for “fruit of the Spirit”’ (love, joy, peace, more disturbing than the last: courage as the dolt- patience, kindness, goodness and self-control). It is eyed nationalism of mindless cattle; as a suicidal as if courage sort of fell between the seat cushions impulse; the despair of nothing left to lose; a mind — out of sight, out of mind. But Scripture puts drugged with revenge, prejudice, and terror; or an an extremely high value on courage, and there’s aberrant pathology that just happens to love the nothing Scripture highly values that we can afford to smell of napalm in the morning. ignore. Yet, we probably …we don’t have a file haven’t even noticed it’s Before Sept. 11, the conceptual framework of folder for courage. gone missing. courage in this country was in decay. But as the twin It doesn’t fit into a towers crumbled, selfless servants rushed in, risking category of spiritual For example, let’s say everything. In doing so, they transformed the ash disciplines like Bible I worked for the ACME and rubble of Ground Zero into a towering memory study, prayer or daily box company. What if of modern courage. Sept. 11 changed the national devotions… I came to you and said perception, definition and value of this virtue. How that I was struggling in could it not? We saw with our own eyes people who my efforts to be an effective witness at my place of had everything to lose give their lives for those work. What would you say? What would you ask me they’d never even met. Courage had returned to its as you sought to diagnose the problem and locate place in the forefront of American consciousness. the source of my evangelistic impotence? “Are you doing devotions every morning? Have you prayed I’ve taken this historical back trail because I believe for the people at work? Have you tried memorizing courage has likewise vanished from Christian evangelistic passages of Scripture? Do you know consciousness, though for altogether different how to explain the gospel message? In what ways reasons. We are, after all, free from persecution, so could you set a godly example?” All good questions. 2 Why Courage Matters I’m sure these are things that I would ask. I doubt, problems arise in our spiritual lives, we tend to however, that you’d have the audacity (or perhaps look only to the traditional gauges of community, the rudeness) to ask me if I were just being a Scripture reading, prayer, fasting, unconfessed sin, coward, or say, “It sounds to me, Rick, like you’re et cetera. We don’t have a mental warning light just plain yellow.” that says, “Coward. Running low on courage.” And if our problem were cowardice, would we have the And yet, if I don’t share the gospel in any reasonable courage to admit it? way, if people don’t even know I’m a Christian, If, as believers, we “Yes, sir, I’m a coward more than likely it’s because fear has shut me up — haven’t noticed that all right. Can’t run fear of losing my job, of what others think of me, of courage has gone away from danger fast not getting promoted, or of being judged or losing missing, what hope enough.” friends. is there for broader society? If, as believers, we According to the Oxford dictionary, what I’ve just haven’t noticed that defined is cowardice and what I lack is the courage courage has gone missing, what hope is there to face and overcome these fears in order to be a for broader society? For instance, in the wake witness for Christ. I do not doubt that any and all of corporate corruption and an economic crisis, of the spiritual “to-do’s” I mentioned — Scripture business schools have been retooling their ethics memory and the like — affect our boldness, but they curriculum — most notably, Harvard, whose are not synonymous with courage. A robust worship illustrious alumni include Enron’s Jeff Skilling. But life feeds and inclines toward boldness, but courage where does the problem truly lie? Is the issue one of is its own action, its own virtue and must either be immoral executives doing something wrong, or is it exercised … or not. a problem of moral co-workers doing nothing about it? Is it the avarice of one or the cowardice of many? Think of how the Christians you know respond to an For every greedy mastermind, there are typically obvious sin issue. They can appear oblivious to the dozens of appeasers, enablers and “yes men” — presence of the moral disorder, yet to those close lieutenants who are well aware of the problem even to them. Is the problem that the Holy Spirit hasn’t if they might be ignorant of details. spoken to them about this issue? Or is the problem that they don’t have the courage to face the painful John McCain wrote the following in his treatise on truth about themselves? courage, “Why Courage Matters”: So when I say that courage has disappeared from “Courage is like a muscle. The more we exercise the forefronts of our minds, I mean that when it, the stronger it gets. I sometimes worry that our 3 Why Courage Matters collective courage is growing weaker from disuse. social or relational death — whatever form death We don’t demand it from our leaders, and our may take, courage is the moral fortitude to face it leaders don’t demand it from us. The courage deficit without surrender or retreat.

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