The Cost of Courage

"While our brothers and sisters in the majority world continue to meet in caves and barns in the face of imminent danger, many of those called to the shepherding office in the developed world lack the gall to hide the sheep and stand before the wolves with staff in hand. They can't stomach the sound of fur parting with flesh-the whimpering is too much." -Dustin Messer

"Mr. Bird, he was guilty. Anyone's guilty who lets these things happen and pretends like it isn't. No, he was guilty all right. Just as guilty as the fanatics who pulled the trigger. Maybe we all are. -Agent Ward, Mississippi Burning

"Men don't follow titles, they follow courage." -William Wallace, Braveheart

"He has shown you, Oh man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." -Micah 6:8

It was decades ago that I paused in front of a group of junior high students in a history class in the Southwest suburbs in Chicago. What I said to them wasn't in my lesson for the day. I looked at them and said, "So here's the deal. It seems to me that those that change the world for good aren't stupid, refuse to shut up, suffer greatly, and are willing to lose their life for what is right."

This is the story of Martin Luther. This is the story of Frederick Douglass. This is the story of Susan B. Anthony. This is the story of Martin Luther King Jr. This is the story of John Adams. This is the story of William Wilberforce. The story of William Wallace. This is the story of every Old Testament Prophet. It's the Bible stories of Moses, Stephen, and Jesus. Without this kind of courage people remain in a state of slavery. So why is such courage so rare?

It's because courage comes at a cost. It's why the authors of the Declaration had to pledge their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. Courage has a cost, and that is why most people, maybe 99% of people, aren't willing to be courageous. It just costs too much. Comfort has a way of killing courage because because keeping your mouth shut has a way of securing your paycheck and health insurance. Courage seems to put your own kids at risk. To speak the Truth can leave you in a wilderness, dependent on birds, brooks, and widows to provide for you. Just ask Elijah. In John the Baptist's case it cost him his head.

Yet, these are God's heroes. No prophet was greater than John, and when Jesus decided to reveal who he really was on the Mount of Transfiguration, it was Elijah and Moses that were at his side. Both men had stood up for the truth and suffered for the truth. But in the end, one was on his left and the other on his right. This is God's way of saying, "No guts, no glory."

But make no mistake, courage comes at a cost. And most people would rather have a paycheck than to stand up for what is right. What they miss is that there is also a cost to cowardice. And that too, is more than most people would like to pay.