A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, BRAVE, Clean and Reverent.
(Yes, these are out of order. Sorry)
In one scene in the Harry Potter series the wizard student Neville Longbottom bravely takes a stand against his friends who, at the time, were trying to sneak out, again. If caught, again, it would cost their "house" enormously in the competition for the House Cup. Fists raised he was, if necessary, prepared to rumble. Of course his friends hit him with a spell that knocked him out and they left anyway. Ultimately Professor Dumbledore said of Neville "It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends." With that he gave Neville and his "house" (Gryffindor) ten points for his show of bravery.
One of my experiences as a Boy Scout was to spend the night in the woods, alone. No tent, No sleeping bag. No tools other than a hatchet. My singular task was to do whatever necessary to keep my own personal fire from going out. In those swampy woods I freely admit at times I was afraid. After all, Michael Jackson had said "It's close to midnight and something evil's lurking in the dark!" Out of sheer will I fought my fear, kept my fire going and survived with only 1237 mosquito bites.
Repeatedly, the Bible speaks of courage:
- Deuteronomy 31:6 -"Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you."
- Joshua 1 - A repeated admonition to be "strong and courageous
- Psalm 27:1 "The Lord is my light and my salvation—
so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
so why should I tremble?"
Similarly, the people in the Bible were told by various prophets and angels - "do not fear" - an encouragement that God is to worthy of our trust, even at the times which seem most dark.
Bravery is not the absence of fear, obviously. Bravery is finding the brute force to face what might hurt us. But bravery has a cost and that cost is the willingness to sacrifice; potentially sacrifice one's friends, one's family, one's livelihood, one's reputation, one's status or even one's life. It's the internal compelling to stare down and run toward that which would steal the heart of us.
Can you imagine the fear of simple men willing to leave everything to follow this poor, itinerant Rabbi, not knowing where there next meal would come from or where they would sleep or if their families would disown them? That type of bravery is something I long to have and exemplify, but internally I can't get past the fear of spiders and humidity.
Fear is a plague. It causes us to put on a mask and be someone we were never created to be, and act in ways that God never intended. Fear causes us not to trust people, to hide and sometimes it convinces us that we have been brave when all we've done is covered our own backside. How we face fear illuminates the real depth of our character, and even brings to the surface the potentially dangerous unveiling of our false selves.
How do you define bravery in your own context?
- Bravery is doing what is right, even if it might hurt your reputation. (Nicodemus)
- Bravery is loving someone and being an advocate for them when they have nothing to offer in return.
- Bravery is looking a friend in the eye and telling them they are wrong. (2 Samuel 12: 1-12)
- Bravery is humbly accepting that your friend is right.(2 Samuel 12: 13)
- Bravery is, as my friend says, creating a bucket list and stepping out and following your dreams, knowing God will move you if you are wrong.
- Bravery is seeking out opposing views, and "offensive" cultures, so we might learn something and then love those with whom we disagree.
- Bravery is the willingness to stare in the mirror and study the lines and wrinkles of our false selves.
- Bravery is facing five o'clock traffic in a car that has a manual transmission.
Bravery is the willingness to admit one is afraid.
I want to be brave! I would love for Dumbledore to owl me and say "well done, good and faithful servant! Ten points for Hufflepuff!"
PREVIOUS BLOG: THE CHARACTER OF AN EAGLE SCOUT
PREVIOUS BLOG: FEAR
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