Have Courage

A man that I very much respect often says, “Courage is the rarest of the good traits.” I agree.

Some people say that courage is not being afraid, but that’s not correct. Courage is acting and doing the right thing even though you are afraid. I like Merriam-Websters definition – “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.”

The Left has done a fantastic job of making people afraid. Many people are afraid to speak up for what they believe. They are afraid to say they support President Trump. They’re afraid to say they’ve had enough of the gay pride and alphabet people causes. They afraid to say that it’s immoral to let trannies read books to children. They’re afraid of what their friends might think or say. They’re afraid of what their employers might do if the mob comes after them.

And they’re right to be afraid. There is always a price to pay for being courageous. Sometimes the price is small. Maybe you’ll make someone mad or lose a “friend.” Other times the price is large. Maybe you’ll lose your job or a family member will stop talking to you. That’s a big price to pay.

In Luke 14, Jesus Christ explains the cost of discipleship.

“Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

Jesus is telling his followers that there is a price to pay to be His disciple. To be a disciple means that they can’t care what people think or do, even their family. They can’t care if something bad happens as a result of professing Him as Savior. They can’t care about their own life. That’s a pretty big price.

But there’s good news. Faith in Jesus Christ will give you freedom, and that freedom will give you the strength you need to have courage.

In John 8, Jesus says, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

When you are free in Jesus Christ the Son and your validation comes from the Father, then you care less about what the world thinks. You care less about the material costs. You know that God is on your side and will help you persevere.

A foundation in faith will help you have courage. As you exercise your faith and exercise your courage, you will get stronger. There will still be costs, but those costs will seem less and less important. You will find strength to speak the truth and do good works.

That’s what we need. That’s what the West needs. We need men who have the courage to speak out against the agents of Chaos, to stand up against the enemy, and to do what is right and good.

““You are my servant,
I have chosen you and not cast you off”;
fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41