God hates a coward. That was a tweaking comment made to someone in These Happy Golden Days, a book in the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Did God actually say such a thing? Sorry to break any preconceptions of Jesus coming on a white horse with a white flag to match. No, He’ll have a sword. We find something like that in Revelation 21:7-8.
He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.
But the cowardly, unbelieving, vile, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolators, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone which is the second death.
It seems to me there’s a gradation on the road from cowardice to courage. Oh sure. Sometimes a burst of courage busts out of someone (maybe you) from seemingly out of nowhere and shocks us all. But it is often more like dipping one’s toe in the shallow end of the pool and going from there. You start by making a comment no one expects, move to rejecting social mores that don’t make sense, and pretty soon you find yourself speaking truth to a crowd who doesn’t want to hear it and feeling something akin to Keanu Reeves or Sandra Bullock in the movie Speed. Good times, eh? No one wants to be a coward, but very few want to be at the front of a battle either.
Sometimes people think fear makes someone a coward, but I agree with George Patton who said, Courage is fear holding on a minute longer. The person who breaks through the roadblock of emotion is the one who shows courage. Many of us must simply push past feelings and intimidation, put on a brave face, and do the right thing regardless of personal consequence. Those who live by faith, also live by God’s assurance that His strength helps us in our weakness.
I don’t believe we’ll be waving to each other across a lake of fire. I am confident, dear reader, that you and I will do what needs to be done during times of trial. We look to good examples and imitate them. But might we also consider this: Maybe the antithesis of courage isn’t cowardice or fear. Maybe it’s conformity.
Quote: found in These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House series, published by Harper and Brothers, June 15, 1940; Speed: 1994 American action thriller written by Graham Yost, Produced by Mark Gordon, The Mark Gordon Company, and directed by Jan de Bont; courage – George Patton; Image: lion-pexels-alexas-fotos-2220336.jpg; Scripture: Revelation 19:11-16; Revelation 21:7-8; Romans 8:31