MORAL COWARDICE

“Be on guard. Stand true to what you believe. Be courageous. Be strong. And everything you do must be done with love.” 1 Corinthians 16:13 NLT

The opposite of courage is cowardice. Cowardice often evidences itself when revolutionary change is demanded. It does not matter if the change is morally right. Cowardice will pull on one’s heart to be silent or go along with the status quo. In other words, a lack of courage is dangerous to the purpose of righteousness

Dr. Martin Luther King addressed moral cowardice in his letter from the Birmingham Jail. Here are a few quotes:

“But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong, or even more, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends.”

“…all too many others have been more cautious than courageous and have remained silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained-glass windows.”

“I have reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizens Councillor or the Ku Klux Klanner but the white moderate who is more devoted to order than to justice.”

“One has not only a legal, but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”

Prayer: Lord, we desire to stand true to what we believe. We do not want to be cowards in the face of opposition. Give us the courage to stand when there is danger or when fear rises in us.

Amen. © 2020 Dr. John Ogletree – Houston, TX