Article January 5, 2015 Issue

Living with moral courage

T. Michael Fish

Today more than ever, mankind needs the individual who expresses moral courage. We must be able to choose right instead of wrong, truth instead of deceitfulness, good instead of evil, what’s virtuous instead of what’s vicious, and what truly blesses our neighbor because it’s in accord with God, the divine Principle, Love. We should be more interested in doing what is right instead of what is easiest or to our personal advantage. Making our mission to glorify God, recognize the spiritual dignity and uprightness of our fellow man, and live to bless humanity will bring harmony and success to whatever we do.

Having moral courage means doing the right thing. Our moral courage is our ability to be honest and ethical, to know that we can’t be harmed for trusting in divine Principle. It is based on the spiritual understanding that God, divine good, is all-powerful and ever present to govern and bless everyone; it speaks the truth and puts down the temptations of evil or selfish motives. In the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy states: “Moral courage is requisite to meet the wrong and to proclaim the right. But how shall we reform the man who has more animal than moral courage, and who has not the true idea of good? Through human consciousness, convince the mortal of his mistake in seeking material means for gaining happiness” (p. 327).

As God’s spiritual, innocent child, I did not have to be the victim of any unethical or illegal action.