Standing at the Crossroads of Courage and Fear

Moses stood on Horeb, the Mountain of God, trembling and stuttering as he listened to the voice of God coming from the bush that was ablaze, yet not consumed. He stood at an important crossroad in his life. Fear overwhelmed him as God gave him the directive to go down to Egypt and free God’s chosen people. Moses gave God every excuse as to why he couldn’t follow the great “I Am’s” command. He was full of fear and doubt; he didn’t want to face Pharaoh. Yet Moses found the courage to be obedient and do as God directed.

Courage is a trait that many of us truly desire. We watch movies and read books in which the hero always seems to reach down deep within side him or herself and find the courage to undertake some daunting task, or face an impending danger. While courage is a desired trait, it also comes with risk; the risk of being unaccepted, the risk of being unpopular, and the risk of being disliked by others. And as in Moses’ case, the risk of life. Courage is often an allusive and difficult trait for many of us because we care what people think about us. Yet to live a life of courage is empowering to our soul and transforming to our beings. Courage builds a genuine sense of self-confidence, as well as self-reliance in which our faith in God is our firm foundation. We don’t depend on the opinions of others when it comes to doing what we believe is right in life. Despite all else we find comfort in God.

Like happiness, courage is a byproduct of doing what is right. It arises from upholding the integrity for what we believe, and overcoming the fear to express ourselves, usually at the risk of personal cost. Yet fear is the main culprit that inhibits our ability to exercise courage. Fear is a terrible adversary that causes us to compromise our system of beliefs and values. Fear is the great enemy.

I am reminded of a story about a Jewish man who applied for, and desperately wanted an executive business position. One evening he was invited to have diner with the executives he was interviewing with. After dinner and drinks the conversation turned to racist jokes about the Jewish race. The man sat at the table with his fiancé beside him and listened to these horrible and degrading jokes. His peers had no idea that this man was Jewish, and as the night went on the jokes became worse. Rather than exercise courage and tell these men that he was Jewish and he found their jokes inappropriate and offensive, the man laughed along with his colleagues at the expense of his own people, as well as his personal integrity. The man’s fiancé looked at him with a frown and bewildered look. After they left the dinner she asked her fiancé how he could participate in such a disrespectful, disgraceful and degrading conversation. How could he laugh as these men made fun of not only him, but also his entire race? The man of course was embarrassed since he placed the desire for the job ahead of his personal integrity. He lacked the courage to take a stand, allowing the distasteful jokes to continue.

We all face similar situations in life. We give away our dignity in order to be popular or to fit in with others. We find ourselves caught in the dilemma of taking a stand for what is right, or simply playing along with something that goes against the grain of our integrity. The bottom line is we tend to sacrifice courage in order to please others. We suffer internally, often at the expense of our own self-respect.

Courage is derived from doing what is right in the face of ridicule. Courage comes from setting aside our fears and stepping outside our comfort zones in order to preserve our integrity and dignity as human beings. As previously stated, courage is the byproduct of doing what is right, no matter how difficult or uncomfortable the task. Courage is the refusal to compromise our belief system regardless of the personal cost.

Jesus’ disciples certainly compromised the little courage they may have possessed. On the night of Jesus’ arrest they fled, leaving Jesus all alone to face his fate. The risen Lord later found them hiding out in a locked room, as they were afraid of the Jewish leadership. Yet at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon them, the same fearful disciples suddenly found the courage to do what was right in the sight of God. These once lowly fishermen and outcasts found the courage to carry their ministry to the world, despite how unpopular it made them with the leadership of their day. Their zeal for Christ gave them the courage to overcome their fears, and face all the hardships they encountered. As a result, countless people came to know and accept Christ. They too would find courage as many of them were later martyred, refusing to compromise their beliefs.

Are we willing to exercise courage in times of fear and doubt? Are we willing to uphold our integrity despite what others may think of us? Are we willing to do what is right in the sight of God at the risk of our popularity? Or do we sell out, and cave in to our fears and uncertainties? Are we willing to lay aside our precious egos and embrace courage? Or do we give in to the desires of others in order to preserve them? The choices are ours. What will we do?

If we truly desire courage we must become willing to place our full trust God and step out in faith, setting aside our personal need for the approval of our friends and fellows. We must lay aside our ego-centric behavior and take a stand for what is right. So the next time we are faced with a situation that calls for courage, take the risk and step out in faith. We may become unpopular for our stand, but we will preserve our integrity and continue grow in courage. Fear will soon leave us as we seek to do what is right.