Courage

There were several preparatory stages before Jesus was born in Bethlehem “in the fullness of time,” as Scripture tells us. God worked through the people of Israel, and they recorded their experiences in what we refer to as the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. The Old Testament gave us a glimpse of God and prepared the way for Jesus’ coming. But God also used other nations and cultures to lay the groundwork for Jesus, specifically the Greek people. The Greek Stoic philosophy, with its emphasis on self-control, moderation, and virtuous living, played an important role in preparing minds for the message of Jesus.

The four Cardinal Virtues of the ancient Stoics were wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice. The Stoics believed that by practicing these four virtues a person could live a more satisfying and fulfilling life. Christian theologians have also utilized these four virtues in describing what it means to follow Jesus.

While all four virtues contribute to a person’s well-being, and are intrinsically linked together, courage is the virtue that fascinates me the most. It takes courage to recognize one’s lack of wisdom and courage to learn from those who have it; courage is required to remain temperate in a culture of excess; and courage is needed to pursue justice when widespread corruption attempts to overthrow the rule of law.   

Courage for the Greeks was not just bravery in battle but implied remaining positive in the face of adversity and pushing through difficult times without giving up. The Stoics were trained in courage from an early age.  Courage, like goodness or selflessness or kindness, was an important part of one’s personal development as a human being. Some people may be born with an innate courageous instinct, but courage is a trait that can be acquired by anyone.

Many of us think that a person either has courage or doesn’t and, consequently, never work to develop the virtue of courage. Instead, we take the easy path, stand back and let others fight our battles, or we yield too easily to temptation, or we remain quiet when our voice would make a difference. We spend our lives playing it safe, afraid to risk, to dare, to speak truth to power.

But then there are those who refuse to give in to the easy way. These people stand in the gap and fight battles when others flee. They are committed to do what is right and decent and honorable, not because they are braver or more intelligent or even more spiritual than others, but because they have stepped forward in spite of their fears to make the world a more civilized place.

Examples of courageous people can be found in Scripture or almost anywhere where people seek a better life. It took courage, for instance, for Moses to stand up to Pharaoh and demand that he give Israel her freedom. Nathan was courageous when he accused King David of adultery. David could have snapped his fingers and Nathan would have been put to death. But David, a man after God’s own heart, recognized the truth of Nathan’s accusation and repented.

Things do not always end well for courageous people. John the Baptist accused King Herod of having an adulterous affair with his brother’s wife and Herod had him imprisoned and later beheaded. While the Bible remembers and honors John the Baptist, history is littered with courageous people whose names are known only to God.

In recent weeks, the courage of Aleksei Navalny has caught the world’s attention. He stood up to one of the world’s most brutal tyrants, Vladimir Putin, knowing full-well that the Russian megalomaniac did not tolerate opposition. Over the last number of years, politicians and business people have been murdered for calling attention to Putin’s criminal behavior. Anyone who opposes him is either killed or thrown in prison. Freedom of the press does not exist in Russia, nor any freedom of expression, nor free elections. It doesn’t take the virtue of wisdom to know why: Dictators can’t handle the truth. Their egos are too fragile to tolerate dissent. They rule with an iron fist because they lack courage.

Aleksei Navalny

Putin was especially fearful of Navalny. Wherever Navalny spoke, small towns or large cities, people gathered in large numbers to hear him and were mesmerized by his humility, honesty, sense of humor, and unquestioned love of Russia. Putin was envious of a leader who could attract such love and loyalty, not through fear and intimidation, but through personal charisma, fearlessness, and the vision of a democratic Russia where people would be free to speak their minds and follow their dreams.

Putin had tried unsuccessfully to murder Navalny on a number of occasions but each time had failed. The latest incident was in 2020 when Navalny was exposed to a nerve agent that had been developed by the Soviets, an obvious attempt on Navalny’s life by Putin. His family feared that he would not receive appropriate medical care in Russia and had him flown to Berlin where he slowly recovered.

Navalny, knowing that his life was in danger, could have stayed in Germany. He could have led the opposition movement from the relative safety of a foreign country. In other words, he could have played it safe and survived.  But he chose to return to Russia and speak out against the corruption of Putin’s government. That’s courage!

For years he had witnessed how Putin and his sycophants had profited by robbing the Russian people blind. Investigative reporters have been unable to discern exactly how much wealth Vladimir Putin has acquired, but by any calculation, it is enormous. Yet, many of the Russian people live in poverty, and as many as one out of five homes do not have indoor plumbing.

Furthermore, Navalny was angered by the Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the senseless destruction of lives and property. He spoke out against the war and further exacerbated the wrath of Putin.

When he returned to Russia, he was immediately arrested and thrown into jail and later shipped to a penal colony in a region north of the Arctic Circle, some 1200 miles from Moscow. He was aware that Putin would no doubt murder him, but even in that frigid and isolated place, he maintained his sense of humor and optimism for the future of his country.

A day before his death he spoke with his mother and appeared healthy and in good spirits. The next morning he was reported dead. When his family requested his body be returned for an independent investigation into the cause of his death, their request was delayed for over a week before Putin finally agreed to release Navalny.

His untimely death, however, will not end the criticism of Putin’s regime. Already Navalny’s wife, Yulia, has vowed to continue his work. “I don’t have the right to surrender,” she said after her husband’s death. I hope that people who love democracy and the rule of law will stand with Yulia in her courageous fight against a totalitarian government that has no regard for human life.

I hope that democratic countries around the world, threatened by the demagoguery of aspiring autocratic rulers, will pay close attention to the words and actions of Aleksei Navalny. He can teach the world about courage—a virtue greatly needed today.