Monday, May 10, 2010

THE PARADOX OF COURAGE

Tell me if you ever feel like this....."Bored?"

Tell me if you ever feel like this...."Behind?"

Tell me if you ever feel like this..."Insignificant?"

Tell me if you ever feel like this..."Fearful things aren't going to work out how you want them to?"

I came across a piece of writing this morning by G. K. Chesterton. Chesterton was an English writer who wrote diverse books, essays, poetry, philosophy, publicly lectured, debated, wrote of Christian apologetics, and even dabbled in fantasy and fiction. The particular piece I read was the paradoxical clash of "courage." After reading, I strongly felt I needed to share it with all you.

"Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die.

'He that will lose his life, the same shall save it,' is not a piece of mysticism for saints and hero's. It is a piece of everyday advice for sailors or mountaineers.

It might be printed in an Alpine guide or a drill book. The paradox is the whole principle of courage; even of quite earthly or quite brutal courage...

He can only get away from death by continually stepping within an inch from it. A soldier surrounded by enemies, if he is to cut his way out, needs to combine a strong desire for living with a strange carelessness about dying.

He must not merely cling to live, for then he will be a coward, and will not escape death.

He must not merely wait for death, for then he will be a suicide, and will not escape.

He must seek his life in a spirit of furious indifference to it; he must desire life like water and yet drink death like wine."

Remember the questions I asked at the beginning? How often do you feel like those things I asked, bored, behind, insignificant, and fearful?

If often, I believe there is reason, maybe one you've never thought of. We have been taught to seek comfort in our lives. To attain wealth that we can do whatever we please. To gain status so that others will take care of our menial chores of life. To bask in all of life's most exotic pleasures. To build monuments to show our accomplishments, to show the world, "Look at me! Look what I have done!" I heard a story of an Asian man who was asked, "When will you know you have achieved success?" He replied, "When I have an Anglo gardener." I thought that was funny.

I'm not saying their is anything wrong with the pursuit of wealth and respect for what you do. And we do these things mostly because this is what we are taught is the "American" thing to do. We are taught that these things are "living the life," when in fact these things are the farthest thing from "living" at all. America is the richest and most depressed nation in the world. How does that work? Interesting.

The pursuit of comfort is the pursuit of detaching your heart from what it really wants. Have you ever noticed that the more you "chase success," the more miserable you are.

Your heart doesn't want to be bored chasing after comfort. You're heart wants something to believe in, something to fight for, a reason to get your butt up in the morning with some enthusiasm.

King David of Israel was the youngest of eight brothers. When Samuel was sent by God to anoint the new King of Israel, David's father Jesse, went through each brother thinking surely that they would be God's choice. Jesse's oldest sons were strong, good-looking, and were all very skilled. Because of their great looks and "king potential" (in their eyes anyway), Jesse thought the next King of Israel would definitely be one of his eldest sons.

But God says something interesting to Samuel. He says, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as a man sees; for a man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

The Hebrew concept of heart (used in this verse) embodies emotions, will, intellect, and desires. Heart, in this context, means that the life of a person will reflect his "heart."

Where are your emotions, will, intellect and desires leading your life? Do you even know? If you are feeling bored, behind, insignificant, and fearful of the future. If so you may need a heart check.

But remember the paradox, in-order to gain something you must be willing to lose something. Remember the soldier in Chesterton's writing. The soldier surrounded by enemies, in order to survive, he must have a strong desire for living and a strange carelessness for dying.

Nothing is ever mentioned in courage about a strong desire for comfort. That's not courage...to me that seems like fear. Constantly striving each day to make sure that you are fat and happy. Or in the writing is explains it as, "merely clinging to live." This soldier, as he says, "is a coward, and will not escape death."

I hope this MMM stirs something in you today. I hope for a moment, maybe you realize that you have been choosing this path of comfort now for too long. That it's time to find some courage and really follow your heart. That you will find where your emotions, will, intellect, and desires have been desperately yelling for your attention. That you will realize that you've been the soldier merely clinging to live your life, afraid to pursue your true desire and calling, and it's time to get up and fight your way out.

"He must seek his life in a spirit of furious indifference to it; he must desire life like water and yet drink death like wine."

LETS GOOO...

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