Choosing Courage

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10)

Within you reside the archetypes in all their forms – light and dark. The battle between profound good and harrowing evil is not waged in some distant realm, but in the innermost depths of your own soul. 

To fear God is, in part, to understand what is truly worth fearing: turning away from His commands. Every departure from the pursuit of the good is a step toward the abyss – toward the worst of evils imaginable. And the descent is rarely sudden. It is walked one small betrayal of conscience at a time. 

You might think yourself incapable of committing true evil. But perhaps that makes you exactly the kind of person who would. There is wisdom in fearing lest you view yourself as above reproach.

History offers harrowing proof of what happens when individuals forsake the fear of God. Consider the Nazi regime: while a minority of sadistic psychopaths delighted in evil, the vast majority did not set out to create a living hell. Yet, step by step, they did.

For most, their sense of right and wrong was eroded over time. The leap from civilian to murderer of pregnant women and children in the fields of Poland was not made overnight. Social pressure, fear, institutional authority, and psychological mechanisms of conformity led ordinary men – family men, tradesmen, laborers – to gradually accept violence as normal.

At first, they may have been assigned administrative tasks. Then, perhaps, they made arrests. Later, they were asked to extract information from prisoners through increasingly brutal means. They witnessed executions. And with each step, they rationalized their participation. Appeals to duty and camaraderie, denial, moral disengagement – all helped them bear the weight of their actions. Some even came to see themselves as victims rather than perpetrators of mass genocide.

But among the masses who surrendered their souls, there were the rare few who refused.

Those who knew that turning from their divine command would not only bring their own ruin but the ruin of all those around them. Those whose highest duty lay beyond themselves.

These rare few lived with courage. They understood both the risks of acting and the risks of failing to act. Through deliberate study, careful preparation, and unshakable faith, they knew exactly what was at stake. They recognized the weight of each decision and the necessity of acting decisively.

As the path to darkness is taken one step at a time, so too is the path to courage. It is forged in the daily choice to say and do what is right.

It is courage that brings light to what would otherwise remain dark. You may know the right thing to do, but do you possess the courage to do it? What is the purpose of wisdom if you lack the will to put it into practice?

At the end of your life, what kind of person will you say you were?

The one who remained silent in the face of injustice? The one who turned away when confronted with evil? Or the one who stood firm, willing to sacrifice everything for a purpose greater than themselves?

The task is yours alone – to become the kind of person who possesses such courage. Train yourself in thought, feeling, speech, and action, so that you are capable of bearing the weight of ever-increasing responsibility. Be relentless in shedding what is insufficient within you so that something greater may take its place.

“For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required; and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.” (Luke 12:48)

Every area of your life is a reflection of all others. Your task is not simply to preserve what you have been given, but to cultivate it, make it prosper, and share it.

“The good man is as wise as he is selfless.” He serves as a guide, illuminating the path that leads to goodness, salvation, and renewal.

For better or worse, the journey before you is perilous. It demands everything of you.

The question is not whether you will sacrifice, but what you will sacrifice – and for whom.

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With inspiration from the book Ordinary Men, and King, Warrior, Magician, Lover, as well as various others texts read throughout the years.