By Dusty Gallup, Interim Pastor of Creative Arts and Communication
Every morning during the week, I walk our kids to school. Tay has gotten to the place where she wants to ride her bike every day, but J wants to walk with me so we can talk. One of the things we talk about is our family code that we live by. I ask both of our kids every morning before they walk away and into school, “What do we live with?” They reply, “Courage, strength, and honor.” Each of those three has a statement tied to them.
Courage is doing the right thing, even if it’s the hard one.
Strength is pushing through and finishing well.
Honor is living worthy of your family, friends, and the One, True God.
We’ve had lots of conversations about those three values, but the one that we’ve talked about the most is courage. Even as adults, maybe especially as adults, we know the right thing to do, but we choose to take the easier way out. We choose what we want over what we know is the right thing.
We do that with our health, our finances, our relationships, and even with our faith. We know what is right, but we choose our own selfishness and comfort over what we know God has called us to.
In Revelation 2:1-7, Jesus is addressing the church at Ephesus. In the first three verses, Jesus commends them for their faith and work in the Gospel. He tells them that he has seen their good deeds and defense of the truth. He praises them for their perseverance and endurance of hardships for the sake of His holy name and His glory. But then…in verses 4 & 5, Christ says,
“4Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first…”
First, love is powerful.
It hits every single one of your senses. You can see it. It’s the look a groom has when he sees his bride for the first time on their wedding day. You can hear it. Words hit differently at the beginning. You hang on every word a coach, an instructor, a lover says. You can feel it. Every time you grip that barbell. Every time you strap up for battle. Every time you pick up that guitar. Every time you touch her hand. You feel it deep inside of you, burning and driving you. It’s your very motivation in life.
It just feels right and natural because, well…it is. There are some things that God put inside of you that you are so perfectly wired for that you can’t help but find joy and meaning in them.
We often like to make the excuse that we don’t know what to do. However, if we can be 100% honest, it’s not that we don’t know what to do. The problem is that we know what to do, and we DON’T DO IT because it’s the hard thing to do. I know that stings and feels harsh, but I wouldn’t be doing you any favors if I gave you a pass on this.
We know the right things to do. In marriage. In fitness. In finance. In our faith. In the simple things, we probably know better. If you don’t, then ask.
Courage is doing the right thing, even if it’s the hard one. We know the right things to do. Let’s get after it.
